Rider World
by Phoenixsun
Summary: With the introduction of the Riders, the ninja way is dying. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I live in a world where a single Kamen Rider is worth over twenty shinobi lives, and I hate them all for it.
1. End of the Shinobi Road

**A/N: It has been a while since the last time I wrote a crossover. During the time procrastinating for my other fic, I've gotten into the Kamen Rider series, so now I want to try brining to world of KR to the cast of Naruto.**

**The idea for this story is very similar to some of my previous attempts at xover (Naruto/Saint Seiya and Naruto/Kingdom Hearts) in which elements from the second series are introduced to world of Naruto. So here is my latest project…**

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_**Rider World**_

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_**End of the Shinobi Road**_

Nobody knew where that power came from. It all started with a few elite shinobi showing the capability to wield such an extreme forces, but very soon, even young kids started to gain access to them as well.

The majority of the public immediately accepted it and all throughout the different countries they begun to call those warriors that acquired the mysterious power _Kamen Riders_, for their ability to transform into almost otherworldly beings with hidden faces.

There were many different Riders, both in appearance and power. Some resembled characters out of old legends, while others look almost like warriors that have been sent back from the future. Even the way in which they tapped into that power varied from phone-like artifacts, to cards, to sentient beings. They were different from anything that the world had seen before.

At the beginning, the Kamen Riders were simply used as an added support. Shinobi were already pretty strong by themselves, so Riders were only called out to action when the mission was in danger to go awry, almost like a hidden ace, and very shortly, they were considered and recognized to be legendary heroes of the battlefield. But soon, as more and more Riders appeared and the gap of strength between them and the ninjas became more evident, there was a shift in the status quo among the Shinobi world and the power of each Hidden Village became tied up to the number of Riders they had at their disposal.

So now, almost ten years since the Kamen Riders became a supporting part of the shinobi system, they have become the system itself and, while restricted to the Riders' shadow, the ninjas have been reduced to nothing but errand boys.

I grew up idolizing shinobi. The only thing that would keep me company during those lonely nights was the dream of someday becoming a ninja that was admired by the entire village, but today that dreams has been destroyed by the rise of the Riders.

My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I live in a world where a single Kamen Rider is worth over twenty shinobi lives, and I hate them all for it.

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"Oh! Hi, Naruto-kun! Haven't seen you around here in a while." Ayame greeted the young boy as he walked into her father's ramen bar.

The smile that the blond had been showcasing waned a bit at the young woman's words. "Yeah, well… I was busy training for the graduation exam, so…" Naruto answered downcast.

Ayame gave her dearest costumer a sympathetic look. "I take it did not go well…?" She questioned.

"No…" The depressed boy responded with a sigh. "This makes my fifth failure in a row!" He exclaimed as he gave one of his few friends a joyless smile.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun…" She said as she felt for the blond. "But you have to remember that the village has very high standard for shinobi for their own safety, so they won't be caught in the crossfire of a Rider battle." The moment the words left her lips, Ayame regretted it.

It looked almost as if someone had physically hurt the young man at the point. "I know…" He said just above a whisper.

Her heart almost broke at that sight. "I… I'm sorry… It came out wrong…" She said as she placed a bowl of the boy's favorite ramen in front of him.

Naruto's expression brightened slightly at the sight of his beloved dish. "Don't worry about me, Ayame-chan, I might be too old to return to the Academy, but I will just train by myself until the next time." The spiky haired boy stated confidently. "I promise you, I will become a shinobi someday."

Ayame managed to give the young man one more smile before turning back and continue with her work. "I heard someone heard that someone pulled a really mean prank on the Kamen Rider Affairs Office last week, apparently the person painted graffiti on the walls and filled all the rooms with frogs during the night." The cook informed. "Now, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, do you, Naruto-kun?" She asked with a hint of amusement in her voice, looking back to see the blond smiled at her sheepishly.

"Yes… I might have heard a thing or two about it." Naruto responded through his grin. "But, had it been me, I would have used mud as well." The teen said before returning to his bowl of ramen.

The brown haired girl assumed a pensive pose. "Hmm… Now that you mention it, I think that the person did use mud for the prank to keep the frogs company." She pointed out.

Unabashed by what his friend was implying, the spiky haired boy continued to eat. "Well, that person is certainly a genius." The young man offered after swallowing a stream of noodles. "And I bet his not to the eyes either." He added as he winked a sapphire colored eye at the cook.

Ayame laughed at the teen's antics and returned her attention to the food, smiling at the fact that they had returned to a more comfortable mood. Unfortunately, her smile soon vanished at the sound of a new voice.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A voice called out with a sarcastic tone. "If it isn't our number one fan!"

Turning around, Ayame saw a brown haired teen wearing a black leather jacket approach Naruto and swing an arm around the blonde's shoulders. The head protector with a black metal plate and white engraved leaf indicated the boy's prestigious position in the Leaf Village community.

The newcomer pulled Naruto's head a little closer to him. "So, how has your day been, Naruto-chan? I heard you didn't make the cut to become a ninja yet again." He mocked.

The spiky haired teen glared at his brown haired counterpart. "Get the hell away from me, Kiba…" He growled; his voice finally completely void of the cheerfulness that had characterized the boy when Ayame first met him.

Inuzuka Kiba laughed. "Is that any way to talk to a Kamen Rider?" He questioned. "Especially from someone like you who isn't even able to become a shinobi. Maybe I should beat you up again until we fix that horrible personality of yours." The brown haired boy offered.

"Kiba!" The shout drew Ayame's attention to the side where a young woman with long dark blue hair alarmingly watched the two boys and a young man with his body almost completely covered by gray cloths and wearing a pair of sunglasses, both of them had black-plated head protectors adoring their attires, signifying that the two of them were Riders as well. "How can you say something like that?" The girl exclaimed.

The brown haired teen sent mildly annoyed look to his fellow Rider. "Don't worry Hinata-chan, we're just playing, isn't that right, Naruto-chan?" He asked as he continued to pull at the blonde's neck.

What little patients Naruto had for Riders ran out at that point. The spiky haired teen took that moment to elbow the Inuzuka boy in the gut with enough to cause the brown haired Rider to stumble back and lose his balance, falling to the ground.

"Why you little…!" Kiba roared as he jumped to his feet glaring at the blond as he stood up from his chair. "I'll teach you not to bear your fangs at your superiors!" The Inuzuka declared as he pulled out a phone-like object, opened, and proceeded to press the same button three times.

"_**Standing By…"**_ The artifact declared.

A wicked smirk appeared on the brown haired boy's face. "Henshin…" Suddenly, before the Kiba could move his phone towards the belt buckle, a red robotic rhino beetle hit the Inuzuka in the hand, causing him to drop the artifact. "Shino!" Kiba roared as he turned around to see the beetle descend softly on top of the hooded teen's extended hand.

"Do not cause any more problems for this establishment, Kiba." The young man calmly said as he put the robotic animal away.

The brown haired boy growled through his teeth. "You can't tell me what to do, Aburame!" He shouted as he picked his phone off the ground.

Completely ignoring his fellow Rider, Shino directed his shielded gaze towards Naruto and Ayame. "I apologize for my friend's behavior, Naruto… Cook-san…" He said as gave them both a small bow.

"Damn it, Shino, you don't make apologize for me!" Kiba complained.

The hooded Rider appeared unfazed by his comrade's outburst. "Well, I must, because other wise you would never do it." The Aburame said, seemingly putting an end at the argument as he proceeded to address his female companion. "We better continue on our way now, or we will be late." The enigmatic teen simply said before turning around and walking away without waiting for an answer.

Growling one more time, Kiba let out a sigh. "You got lucky this time, Ninja-boy…" He said, pushing Naruto back on his seat before following his friend's example and turning away. "Hey, Shino, wait for me!" He called out.

The remaining Rider stayed behind for a couple of second. Her lavender eyes looked apologetically at the blond. "Naruto-kun… I… I…" Hinata struggled say. "I am sorry about all of this!" She suddenly blurted out before given the spiky haired boy a bow and quickly going after her companions.

Even after all the Kamen Riders were out of sight, Naruto continue to remain quiet.

Not been able to stand the silence, Ayame raised her hand and directed it towards the young man's shoulder. "Are you ok, Naruto-kun…?" She asked, but before her hand could make contact with the blond, the teen stood up from his seat once more.

"I'm fine, Ayame-chan…" Naruto lied through clenched teeth. "Thanks for the ramen." He said before placing money on the counter and walking away, leaving a half eaten bowl of ramen behind.

The brown haired cook continued to observe until her favorite costumer disappeared from view. "Was that Naruto-kun? Did I just miss him?" Ayame suddenly heard her father said as he approached the ramen bar from the opposite direction.

Ayame silently nodded at her father's question.

Looking at the unfinished ramen on the table, a sigh escaped Teuchi. "I take it he didn't pass the exam this time either…" He said, receiving a nod from his daughter which caused him to sigh again. "That boy… Ever since he was nothing but a little brat, has always been talking about how he wanted to become the greatest shinobi in the history of the village so that everyone would acknowledge him." The older cook commented.

"But why a shinobi instead of Rider? Why does he hate them so much?" The young woman asked.

The ramen vendor contemplated his daughter's question for a few moments before answering. "Well, Naruto-kun became an orphan when he was very young and he was left all by himself. In that loneliness, he searched for something to hold on to, a dream for a better future." He explained.

"And that was…" Ayame said softly. "Being a ninja for the village…?"

Teuchi nodded before continuing. "You have to remember that at that time, there were only a few Kamen Riders, so shinobi were still the cornerstone that supported the village and, in Naruto-kun's young mind, the epitome of the best that ever existed in the world."

The brown haired girl proceeded to put away the blonde's neglected bowl. "Both still, why does he hold so much disdain for the Riders?"

The older cook sighed at the question. "Well think about it, right now Naruto-kun lives in a world that now deems his dream as a mere consolation prize, so it is only natural that he would direct his anger and frustration towards the thing that caused the change in perception, in other words, the Kamen Riders." Teuchi pointed out.

"But…" Ayame started to say but her words failed her. "But simply because he doesn't like the Riders, the rest of the village shuns him like he was some sort of pest…! It's not fair!" She exclaimed.

The vender sighed yet again as he started to work on his food. "It is not a fair world, kid… Especially not for him." He commented. "All we can do is hope that things will get better for him and be there to help him if they do not." Teuchi added before going quiet, leaving his daughter to her thoughts.

* * *

"Damn it!" Naruto cursed as his fist met the bark of the tree in front of him. "Damn the Riders! Damn the exam! Damn the village!" The young man continued to exclaim, punching the tree with each outburst as he let out his frustration.

After several minutes, the tree in the middle of the forest of Konoha finally stopped shaking.

Having run out of steam, the blond pressed his back again the print of his own fist on the tree and let his body slide down until he was sitting on the ground. "The Kamen Riders… I hate them…" The teen whispered.

"You hate the Kamen Rider? Well that's certainly a refreshing notion…"

Naruto jolted at the sound of the voice. Suddenly, to the spiky haired boy's bewilderment, the entire clearing was covered by a thick fog. "Who is there?" Naruto asked at the mist.

A small laugh was the teen's first responds. "Oh, I'm nobody specially… You could say that merely some one passing through." The voice answered.

The blond narrowed his eyes. "Show yourself!" He called out. The whole situation was putting the spiky haired teen on the edge.

Laughter echoed through the fog once again. "Calm down, you don't have to be so hostile…" A silhouette formed among the mist in front of Naruto. "I'm right here." The voice stated before the figure step forward, revealing himself to be a man wearing a brown trench coat and a brown hat that hid most of his face.

The fact that he could see the source of the eerie voice did not appease the blond at all. "What do you want we me?" The spiky haired boy asked warily.

The strange man simply raised his hands as if to show he did not mean any harm. "Like I mentioned, I was just passing by when I was taken back by what you said." The figure in the trench coat said, earning a confused look from the blond. "This is a world that worships the ground that the Riders' walk in, so to find some one with such pure and an unrelenting hatred for the Kamen Riders is quite fascinating." He commented with not a single hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Tell me, what's the source of such strong feelings?"

Naruto was taken back by the stranger's words. "Well… They, the Riders, destroyed my dream…" The teen confessed.

"It must have been a wonderful dream… If its death brought forth such terrible hatred." The strange man commented.

"What's it to you?" The blond questioned, still confused by the newcomer's words.

A smirk became visible on the lower part of the man's face. "Oh, let's just say that I can understand your feelings… I know how it feels like to see your dream be destroyed right before your eyes, Naruto-kun." He informed as his smile widened.

Sapphire colored eyes widened. "How do you know my name?" Naruto asked.

The man laughed once more. "I know a lot about you, Naruto-kun…" He answered. "Like how your dream of becoming a shinobi will never be realized." The stranger added with amusement.

"How…?" The blond started before his anger got the best of him. "What do you know about me dream? I will become a ninja!" The teen proclaimed.

"Not the shape the world is in today." The man said in responds to the boy's outburst. "Did you know that as we speak, all the Hidden Villages are researching ways to mass produce Kamen Riders? Very soon the shinobi way will be obsolete." He informed.

The young man's eyes widened in shock before determination narrowed them. "It won't!" He stated. "I will not let the shinobi way die!"

The smirk returned to the stranger's partially concealed face. "And just how will you do that?" The man asked, causing the boy's eyes to drop when he could not find answer. "Though a better question would be, what are you willing to sacrifice in order to accomplish it?" He offered.

Naruto's eyes immediately returned to the enigmatic man. "What… What are you talking about?" The teen asked with a mixture of hesitation and anticipation.

"I can offer you a deal…" The stranger said. "The remnants of your dream in exchange for a way to prevent the shinobi road from coming to an end." He presented.

"What do you by… The remnants of my dream?" The blond asked with caution.

The smirk widened. "Give up being a ninja." The man explained. "Become what you hate the most in order to destroy it!" He announced.

Had there not been a tree behind him, Naruto would have backed away. "What…?"

The stranger proceeded to take out two objects from his coat. One reminiscing of a book and the other a large belt buckle with glass on its center that made it look like a camera; they were both predominantly white with some black elements on them. "The Decadriver and the Ridebooker, together they bring forth a power ten years in the making…" The man announced. "And I offer them to you." He added before thrown the two artifacts halfway between him and the teen.

"You… You want me to become a Kamen Rider?" The boy asked.

The question earned a chuckle from the man. "Not just any Kamen Rider, but one that can bring about a new revolution to the world." He explained. "If you accept this power, you can become the Rider that would put an end to their rise." The stranger said before fixing his hat and turning around, as if the boy had already accepted his offer.

"But… But why me?" The blond called out, not taking his eyes off the white belt buckle on the ground as he gritted his teeth.

The mysterious man raised his head, showing his face to the thick fog. "Because you are the one who meets all the requirements, Naruto-kun, to become the Destroyer." He said as his figure faded from view. "To become Kamen Rider Decade." He added before the mist completely dissipated as if it had never been there at all.

Naruto was left staring at the Decadriver in the middle of the clearing.

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**A/N: So there it is, my Naruto/Kamen Rider crossover, obviously it is not a xover between Naruto and a single KR series. I choose Decade for Naruto because that's my favorite Rider, though I do have some issues with the character itself. I will be using Riders mostly from the Hesei series and there might be a few tweets to some of their abilities and elements so that it would fit the story better (Kamen Rider Zeronos, I'm looking at you). Anyways, to everyone who made it this far, thanks for reading.**


	2. The Destroyer

**A/N: First of, to does who review chapter one, thank you.**

**To daxam1989, and anyone else wondering, I will not be introducing any original Kamen Riders, unless I have a visual depiction of them, but since I cannot draw to same my life, I doubt it is going to happen.**

**Lastly, chapters would be done in two points of view. Because I loved Shoutaro's introspective moments at the end of each arc in KR W, I'm going to try a moment of in first person view, mostly Naruto's, either at the beginning or at the end.**

**So now, here's Rider World's chapter 2, this one with a complete Henshin and some action.**

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_**The Destroyer**_

What criteria qualified someone to be a Kamen Rider was as big of a mystery as where the power came from.

It is said that the first Kamen Rider was someone who was already recognized as one of the strongest shinobi that ever existed, so people widely believe that Raiders were the next evolution of power that only those deemed worthy were granted.

That initial belief effectively placed the Riders on a pedestal far above others, even beyond the ninja that had protected the villages until that point.

As the years went on the respect with which the Riders were regarded increased just as their numbers did, and when young boys and girls started to display the ability to transform into this famed heroes, a reform was called forth.

It was at that point that the Shinobi Academy was split into two divisions, the traditional one for those who still wanted to become shinobi of the village, and the other for the elite warriors of the future called Riders.

The Kamen Rider division was separated further into four classes, designated A through D, according to the Rider's potential and control over his or her power. While the members of the D Class were barely able to maintain their transformed state through an exercise course, those in very small A Class were already fully considered assets for the village and were able to carry out missions outside the walls without the supervision of a teacher.

It is important to note, however, that despite the acclaimed superiority of the Kamen Riders over the ninjas, the villages had no problems in sending out a shinobi barely seven years old out in a dangerous mission, while they did everything in their power to protect the supposedly stronger and faster Riders for as long as they could. Because of that practice, young Kamen Riders, especially does below the A Class, lived very sheltered, and almost spoiled, lives.

Young Riders are recipients of all the glory and respect that their title brings forth while been shielded from most of the danger that lurks outside the village's walls, resulting in overconfident, and often reckless, warriors.

Personally, I find B Class to be the most arrogant of them all. Because they find themselves almost at the top of the Kamen Rider Academy, because they are allowed to wear that black plated Leaf headband, and because they have yet to experience any hardships outside of training most of these Riders believe themselves to be invincible.

These days, the B Class is made up eight Riders. Five boys and three girls all around my age, all of them whom I've know most of my life, most of them with whom I once played in the park back during simpler days, some of them that I even called my friends once.

But, just as this village has change during the last nine years, the paths that we walk have taken me far away from all of them. They turn their backs on me just as I turn my back on them. They who all became Kamen Riders and I who grew to hate them.

Despite everything, I always wondered if my road would ever lead me back to them. I always wondered if we would become comrades or enemies.

**

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**

"So I guess this is it for today." Iruka announced as he looked over his notes. "Your score around the obstacle course are still fairly consistent… Kiba, I would be extremely overjoyed if you could refrain yourself from destroying the equipment." The man said gazing up from his papers to the Inuzuka.

The brown haired team smirked. "I refuse to learn what the term _excessive force_ means." He declared.

Iruka shook his head at his student's remark. "And Shikamaru, could you humor me for once and pretend you actually want to be here?"

The Nara clan member, currently lying on the grass, lazily sat up. "I have no problems with been here, Iruka-sensei, I just find it troublesome been here until so late." The black haired boy pointed out.

"But it is barely pass the afternoon… Argh, why do I even bother…?" The older man commented.

"Beats me." Shikamaru added, earning a laugh from some of his classmates.

Shaking his head once more, Iruka took a moment to look over B Class. They had just spent the last couple of hours doing routine exercises to assets the young ones' current abilities as Riders and now B Class was sitting in front of their teacher in the middle of a training field listening to the wrap up. Sure there were some attitude and disciplinary problems here and there, but the brown haired man could not have been more proud of his students.

While eight students were a slightly less than average number for the B Class, what it lack in quantity the class certainly made up in both quality and variety. Iruka was sure of the tremendous potential that every one of these boys and girls in front of him held.

Sure there were those like Sasuke or Shino with whom one would simply need to see them in action to take note of how strong they already were, and because of that their ascend to the A Class was just a matter of time. But at the same time, there were those like Hinata and Chouji who people my write off at first glance but, deep down below all the restraints that they impose on themselves, were the makings of a true and powerful warrior.

"So, can we leave already?" Chouji asked. "I already ran out of potato chips…"

A sigh escaped Iruka. _"Really deep down…"_ The tanned man pondered. "I guess we are…" He said, rechecking his notes. "Hmm… Oh yeah! I've been talking with the Hokage about getting you guys an assignment outside of the village, or at the very least a training exercise." He added.

Immediately, the brown haired teacher regained the full attention of his class.

"Really? What kind of an assignment?" Ino asked excitedly for the rest of the group.

Iruka let out a soft chuckle. "Weren't you guys in a hurry to leave just a second ago?" He asked, but their eager gazes forced him to answer their question. "Like I said, everything is still been discussed, but I promise you that I will get you more information soon." The brown haired man said, chuckling a bit at the deflated look that instantly took over his students' faces. "But don't worry about it, I will…" His sentence was abruptly cut off.

"Hey!" Kiba suddenly exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "What's that guy doing here?" He exclaimed pointing to a spot behind Iruka.

The eyes from the rest of B Class and its teacher's looked towards where the Inuzuka was pointing at.

Far off at the edge of the clearing, a familiar blond to all of them walked towards them.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Iruka asked once the spiky haired boy was within earshot.

The blond stopped walking. "I'm sorry, Iruka-sensei, I just want to talk with Kiba." He announced with a serious face.

Before the teacher could say anything, the Inuzuka had already stepped forward. "Heh, so you want to finish what we started earlier?" The brown haired Rider questioned, cracking his knuckles.

Iruka immediately halted his student's advance. "Kiba, no, I'm not going to allow a fight between the two of you." He stated.

"Come on, Iruka-sensei, you always say that we should broaden our horizons and interact with more non-Riders. Well, this is the prefect chance!" Kiba commented, already taking his phone-like device out. "Naruto-chan agrees, don't you, Ninja-boy?" He asked tauntingly.

Looking from one boy to the other, Iruka tried to come up with away to peacefully avoid any fighting without resorting to pull rank. Unfortunately, Kiba was his most reckless student and there was something definitely off with the normally energetic blond.

"Iruka-sensei, if you allow me…" Shino's voice snapped the tanned man out of his thoughts. "I already prevented a confrontation between Kiba and Naruto today." He informed. "And you may be able to do so as well right now, but I believe sooner or later, things will escalate out of control between these two, and it would be dangerous if there is not someone responsible overlooking the situation." The Aburame pointed out.

The teacher contemplated his student's words. Looking at Kiba, Iruka could see that the boy was ready to leap into action, but looking at Naruto, it seemed as if the spiky haired teen was holding something back. "Are you ok with this, Naruto?" He received a nod as a response. Sighing, the brown haired man gave up. "Ok, but this is only a sparing match, so no swords or guns allow." He said giving the Inuzuka a look. "And when I say it's over, it's over, got it?" He added before stepping back.

A smirk formed in Kiba's face. "I've been waiting for this for a while now." He said, pressing the _5_ button on his phone three times.

"_**Standing By…"**_ The device announced after the brown haired teen pressed the _Enter_ button.

The Inuzuka extended his right arm that held the phone upward. "Henshin!" Kiba called out before placing the device on the buckle of his belt.

"_**Complete"**_ The phone proclaimed.

Immediately, red lines sprout from the belt, surrounding the teen, and in a flash, Kiba was replaced by Kamen Rider Faiz. The Rider was mostly black with red outlines, silver chest and shoulder pads, and large yellow eyes on the mask. "Here, I go…" The Inuzuka muttered before flicking his wrist and dashing forwards.

In an instant, Kiba had reduced the distance between him and the blond to just a couple of feet. Bringing both of his arms forward, Naruto managed to block a punch from his opponent, but the force was strong enough to push him back and break his guard.

"Heh…" The sound was heard from within Faiz's helmet as he took a step forward. The Inuzuka followed by rounding a kick towards the spiky haired boy's left side.

The blond brought his left arm up to intercept the kick, but once again the force was too much for him and he was sent flying to the side.

Kiba stood mockingly over his opponent. "When was the last time I beat you up, Naruto-chan? I can't clearly remember." He said.

"You bastard…" Naruto growled from the floor before jumping to his feet and immediately driving a fist towards the Rider's face.

The punch was strong enough to push Faiz's head to the side, but it did not have any other evident effect. "Is that all?" Kiba's voice said. Before the blond could react, the Inuzuka's own punch connected with his gut, sending him flying back and gasping for breath. "You have gotten stronger since the last time we fought…" The masked teen admitted, walking closer towards his downed opponent. "But not nearly as much as I have!" He declared before kicking the blond in the gut and sending him further back.

Iruka was about to call off the fight, when suddenly, Naruto jumped back up and pounce forward towards Kiba, taking the brown haired boy by surprise. Both teens fell down on the ground.

After struggling in the dirt for a bit, Faiz managed to throw the blond off him. "Damn you…" The Inuzuka muttered as the two of them stood up. Catching the spiky haired boy's next fist, the increasingly frustrated Rider kneed his opponent in the gut before backhanding him away. "I'm already getting sick and tired of you." Kiba growled before kicking the blond and sending him flying.

Naruto forced himself back up, wiping away the little trickle of blood that ran down from his mouth._ "I really can't beat him…"_ The teen thought. _"Not as I am right now…"_ Resigning to his situation, the blond took out the Decadriver and a single card.

"And those?" Kiba asked in mild curiosity.

Closing his eyes, Naruto said goodbye to this dream before brining the Decadriver to his waist. Immediately, a strap came out of one side of the device and went around the teen's waist, forming a belt. "Henshin…" The young man said as he pulled the Decadriver open.

Everyone in the clearing watch in awestruck bewilderment as the spiky haired teen inserted the card into the device on his belt buckle.

"_**Kamen Rider…"**_ The device announced. Opening his eyes, Naruto glared at Kiba and the other young Riders further away before closing the Decadriver. _**"Decade!"**_

Several gray figures appeared around the blond and they all immediately converged into Naruto, turning the teen into a black version of them and producing numerous magenta colored plates over him. The plates proceed to descend into the spiky haired boy's helmet, dyeing the sides of his body and face of his helmet magenta, and his eyes into an emerald color with a yellow jewel between them.

"No way…" Sakura managed to say, been the first one to do so out of the rest of her classmates.

Undeniably, before all of them stood a Kamen Rider.

"What?" Kiba shouted. "That is impossible!"

Instead of giving a retort, Decade simply dashed towards Faiz, the latter still had not recovered from the shock enough to block the punch that connected to the side of his face and sent him staggering back. Without stopping, the new Rider kept on delivering several punches from different sides, culminating in a powerful kick to his opponent's chest.

The Inuzuka growled in pains. Despite the protection that his Rider armor granted him, the brown haired teen could now feel the force of his adversary's fist. Fortunately, that same pain was enough to snap the teen back into his senses and he managed to block Decade's next punch. "What's the meaning of this? You're a Rider now?" He asked a as he sent several punches of his own, but they were all blocked.

"I… Don't want any of this…" Naruto's voice said from inside the magenta helmet as he caught Faiz's last fist. "But I will bear it!" Decade exclaimed before delivering another devastating kick and sending Kiba flying back.

Jumping back up as soon as he hit the ground, the brown haired teen let out a feral growl at his opponent. "Damn you…" He cursed. "Someone like you cannot be a Rider!" Faiz exclaimed dashing forward.

The two Kamen Riders traded blows. Blocking and dodging punches and kick from one another.

Eventually, Kiba managed to find an opening and kicked Naruto to push him back. "You think that just because you can transform you can beat me?" The Inuzuka questioned. "You have no idea what it truly means to be a Rider!" He exclaimed, dodging his opponent's latest punch and delivering an even stronger kick.

Naruto managed to stay on his feet after been pushed back. "If that's so, then I'll keep changing, I'll keep transforming…" The blond said as his hand, almost on instinct, reached for the Ridebooker that was strap on the right side of his belt. "I'll keep getting stronger and stronger, until I can defeat all Riders!" He exclaimed, opening up the Decadriver once more and taking out a card from the Ridebooker.

"_**Kamen Rider…" **_The buckle announced once the card was inserted._** "Faiz!"**_ It added when the teen closed again.

The training field was sent into shock once again as red lines identical to the ones that had surrounded the Inuzuka now enveloped Decade. In a flash of red light, the magenta colored Kamen Rider was replaced by a perfect replica of Faiz, except of the presences of the Decadriver as his buckle.

The astonishment for the brown haired Rider was so strong that he had to take a step back. "No… Impossible…" He muttered, backing up some more.

Naruto's hand reached for the Ridebooker yet again. "I will continue to evolve…" The doppelganger said taking out another card and opening the Devadriver once more. "Until I surpass everything!" He inserted the card.

"_**Form Ride… Faiz Accel!"**_ The device called out before the metal chest plate of Naruto's Faiz armor opened up, the red lines took a metal color, and the yellow eyes became red.

The upgraded version of himself started Kiba down. "No…" Was all that the Inuzuka was able to say before Naruto press a button on the device attached to his wrist.

"_**Start Up"**_

To the audience witnessing the battle, it was as if the original Faiz was been thrown across the field like a rag doll by a dark blur.

Iruka watched dumbfound at the scene in front of him. The boy that had publically proclaimed his hatred for Kamen Riders had become one himself. And now to surprise the teacher even further, that same boy had managed to duplicate the powers of Kiba's Faiz Gear, to the point of been able to successfully use the Accel Form, which allows the user to move at extremely high speed for ten second. It was the same power up that the Inuzuka had only acquired less than a week ago and was still having problems mastering.

After ten second, the blur that was Decade stopped and the Rider returned to his original form, leaving Kiba having to use his arms to hold his body off the ground.

Naruto panted as he glared at defenseless Kamen Rider in front of him through the visors of his helmet. "I'll end this…" The teen said as he raised a gold trimmed card with a shaky hand and inserted in his belt.

"_**Final Attack Ride… De-De-Decade!"**_ The Decadriver announced as several large holograms of the golden cards appeared, bridging the distance between Decade and Faiz.

The magenta Rider jumped into the hair, his end of the holographic card line rising up along with him, and proceeded to kick forward. The contact between the blonde's kick and the hologram propelled the teen's body forward into the next card, which followed suit as the Rider traveled alone the lines of holograms. His speed increased with each card that his body traveled through. _"I will destroy everything…"_ The thought echoed in the young man's mind.

Kiba looked up; Decade's kick was two cards away from him. With his body too hurt to respond to him, the Inuzuka closed his eyes and braced himself for the incoming attack.

A large explosion resounded through the clearing.

The rest of B Class waited anxiously and worriedly as the dust settle, but once the debris dissipated, the young Riders were surprised. Right between Faiz and Decade, and blocking the latter's kick, stood a Kamen Rider with red colored chest and shoulder pads, black arms and legs, and gold trims all throughout his body. "This battle is over." Iruka's voice firmly declared from within Kamen Rider Kuuga.

**

* * *

**

Naruto sat on his apartment staring at the Decadriver, the Ridebooker, and the Kamen Rider Decade card that were displayed on his table. The young man's mind kept replaying the events of that evening.

After Iruka-sensei stopped the blonde's attack, Kiba reverted out of his Rider form and collapse. Iruka de-transformed as well and said that he would take the Inuzuka to the hospital to get check out.

Immediately, Naruto powered down and left the training field before the other students could ask him questions and returned to his apartment.

Opening the Ridebooker, the spiky haired boy took out the gold trimmed card. "I could have killed Kiba with this…" The teen whispered as he looked the card over until his hand begun to shake. Taken back by his body's behavior, Naruto slammed that card back on the table.

As if triggered by his sudden action, the moment the blonde's hand hit the table his room was completely covered by a thick fog.

"Did you enjoy the experience of being a Rider, Naruto-kun?" The voice from the strange man that gave the boy the Decadriver echoed through the room. Straining his eyes, the spiky haired teen could see the same cloaked figure wearing a hat simply sitting by his window. "Or should I call you Decade now?" The man questioned with amusement.

Naruto grabbed the Decadriver. "The power that you gave me… What is it?" The boy asked.

"Well, that's simple…" The stranger answered. "It is the power to destroy." The tone of voice made it obvious that the man was smirking.

The blond gritted his teeth at the answer. "Is that… Is that why I felt like I wanted to kill Kiba?" He questioned.

"I wouldn't know Naruto-kun…" The man confessed. "I cannot tell you the reason why you would want to do such I think… It's not like I can control you or anything."

Naruto's eyes dropped back to the Decadriver. "Those cards I used… The ones that turned me into Faiz, how did I know how to use them?"

A laugh escaped the man. "Now, that one I know how to answer." He informed. "Because you know that boy and that boy knows of Faiz, so through the Decadriver you know of Faiz as well, get it?" The stranger explained.

"No… What the hell are you saying?" Naruto said in a frustrated tone. The teen's patience with the mysterious man was running out.

The man sighed. "Just think of it this way, the Decadriver turns your memories into data and then passes it along to you." He revealed. "That's why you knew how to fight as Decade."

Sighing himself, Naruto had no other choice but to accept that answer. After looking over his gear once more, the teen addressed the stranger again. "So, what now?" He asked.

The enigmatic figure chuckled. "Well, now you start!" He announced and, as if on cue, the Ridebooker started to glow.

Opening the artifact, the blond was surprised to find out that most of the cards, including the Faiz ones, were now completely blank. "What happened? What did you do?" The young man questioned, looking at the stranger.

"I told you already, the Decadriver turns your memories into data." The man repeated himself. "I gave you the Decadriver preloaded with information so that you could experience Decade's power, but now it is your responsibility to gain everything back." He announced with gleeful delight. "The more you experience and interact with other Riders the more cards you will fill up and the stronger you will become, until you have surpass them all."

Naruto scoffed at the man's words. "Like that would happen…" He commented. "After what happened today at the training field, I doubt that anyone of them would come near me." He said closing the Ridebooker and pushing it aside.

A low laugh echoed through hazy apartment. "I wouldn't be so sure about that…" The strange man said. As soon as the words left the man's mouth, there was a knock at the apartment's door.

Immediately, the fog cleared from the room and the blond found himself alone one more. The boy searched for any sign of the mysterious visitors before answering the door, but found nothing. Giving up, the blond walked towards the apartment's door and opened. The only thing that gritted the boy on the other sight of the threshold was a small box.

Picking the small container up, the spiky haired boy took it back to his table an opened. The first item was a short note addressed to him.

_Naruto-kun, Iruka-sensei will be expecting you tomorrow at noon for your first day of class._

_Sandaime Hokage_

A sigh escaped the young man. "Old Geezer…" He muttered with a hint of affection. Looking back down to the box, Naruto slowly picked the second item up. Sapphire colored eyes carefully look over the Konohagakure head protector with the black metal plate and white leaf engraving.

* * *

**A/N – So there it is. Right off the bat, the whole thing with the Decadriver and the memory thing is made up, it doesn't do that in the original concept, but I need an excuse as to why Naruto knew how to use it.**

**If anyone is still following this, I challenge you to guess which character is which Kamen Rider (The Riders are not limited to Leaf nins).**

**Thank you for reading.**


	3. Meaning Behind the Mask

**A/N: And here's the third chapter of the Naruto/Kamen Rider crossover.**

**First things first though, Kamen Rider Decade Complete, good guess with Orochimaru, but while Ouja was a strong consideration, I chose another Rider for him. Des Shinta, that was a nice try, but they are still incorrect, and while I see your train of thought with Den-O, I found another character for that Rider, and the answer your question, I am still on the fence about adding Double and Oz (OOO).**

**Next issue: This chapter contains monsters. I decided to add monsters because otherwise I would run out of Rider too soon and I can only use Riotroopers and ZECTroopers so much. The monsters are a combination of Worms and Undead, having the former's molting ability and been sealed like the latter. Once the monsters "evolve" they can be anything from Kabuto's molted Worms to Kiva's Fangires, and there is a reason why I'm not using Double's Dopants.**

* * *

_**Meaning Behind the Mask**_

The reason as to why humans were given the power of the Kamen Riders has never had a definite explanation, but the events that occurred soon after the first Rider revealed himself do offer a theory.

It was during the highest point of the Third Great Shinobi War and the arrival of the Kamen Rider had started to turn the tide. Suddenly, the emergence of an unforeseen and extremely dangerous third party brought the struggle between countries to halt.

The Worms, as people ended up calling them, were monsters that appeared during the turmoil of the Shinobi War and began to indiscriminately attack all humans. Unlike enemy countries, the Worms did not care about land, influence, or power, and instead they just wanted the annihilation of the human race.

The Third Shinobi War ended up as each Hidden Village redirected all of its resources towards fighting off the Worms. Unfortunately, after realizing that ninja arts were not enough to defeat the newfound threat, the villages turned to desperate measure that sent the entire shinobi infrastructure into chaos.

Then, just as the night appeared the darkest, people found hope. It seemed as if the Kamen Rider had come into existence for the sole purpose of defending the human race from the Worms, since his mysterious power proved more than enough to stop the monsters' advance by been able to seal the creatures off into cards.

Soon, more Riders started to appear in other villages. With their power, the Worm threat was virtually brought to a halt and from then on the Riders were considered heroes throughout the Shinobi World.

If you ask me, I would say that it is the other way around. The Kamen Riders did not appear as a way to prevent the Worms from destroying the world, instead, the way I see it, the Worms emerged to destroy the Riders.

It was a predestined battle between Worms and Riders in which the ninjas got caught in the middle. Once the dust settled most Worms were sealed inside cards, Riders won the day, and shinobi began to be viewed as unreliable.

But it matters little to me. I will protect what's left of the ninja way, whether it is from Worms or from the Riders themselves. I will destroy everything that threatens the shinobi world, even if the world itself becomes my enemy.

To do that, I gave up the dream that supported me until now, so all I have left for myself is this road covered by dense fog that I decided on, because I am the Destroyer, because I am Kamen Rider Decade.

* * *

"Damn it, Sarutobi, it was not up to you to place the child into the Kamen Rider Academy!" A man with most of his face covered in bandages angrily exclaimed, sending a glare at the aged Hokage through his one visible eye.

Sartuobi Hiruzen calmly observed his old comrade from his seat. "I do not see the problem, Danzo, just like I do not understand why you are so upset." The Sandaime serenely said. "In fact, I thought that you would have been happy with the news of Konoha gaining another Rider." He commented.

The bandaged man's body shook in anger. "You thought that…" Danzo spat before taking a couple of second to compose himself. "I have so many problems with what you just said that I do not know where to begin." The seasoned shinobi confessed. "Why do we not start with the fact that you do not have the authority to simply put this boy into the Academy without consulting me! After all, I am in charge of Kamen Rider Affairs in this village!" The black haired man said, emphasizing his statement by slamming his fist on the table.

His old comrade's antics did not faze Sarutobi. "Naruto-kun showed that his newfound abilities as a Kamen Rider are above average, so I thought it was on everyone's best interest if he started to harness them as soon as possible." The Hokage explained.

"That is yet another issue!" Danzo stated. "The boy, who just two days ago publicly expressed his unrelenting hatred for the Riders, suddenly acquires a Rider System of his own, and you brush it off like it is a daily occurrence!" He roared.

During his younger days, Sarutobi would have simply shrugged his shoulders at the man's declaration. "Neither you nor I understand the criteria or way in which the Kamen Rider powers chose their wielders, so if you want to go down that path, we would have to consider the birth of every Rider as an anomaly." The Hokage pointed out.

A growl escaped the bandaged man. "And what about the boy's power itself? The ability to copy other Kamen Riders, clearly you must have made the connection in you head." Danzo's eye watched as Sarutobi's narrowed. "Or maybe that is the reason why you are trying to cover for the boy… Because that power is…"

Danzo's words were cut off as the Sandaime Hokage abruptly stood from his seat.

All signs of aging and weariness disappeared from Sarutobi and his eyes filled with a cold fury as they stared down his old rival. Still, the Director of Rider Affairs returned the glare right back at the village leader.

"Stand down, you two, this is neither the time nor the place to settle old, stupid rivalries." Mitokado Homura said from his seat as he rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

"This meeting was called out to discuss this new development concerning the boy, yet the two of you continue to get sidetracked." Utatane Koharu added from the other side of the table.

The two seasoned ninjas complied with their old comrades' words and sat back down, even though their eyes did not stop sending glares at each other.

Once order was restored to the council meeting, Koharu continued. "Now, Sarutobi, Danzo does bring out an important point." She stated, directing her gaze to her old teammate. "How can you be so sure that _he_ is not the source of the boy's Rider System?" The kunoichi questioned.

The Third closed his eyes for a second as he contemplated his answer. "While I do not have any hard evidence that _he_ is not involved in this matter, there is, however, no evidence that _he_ has made any contact with Naruto-kun." Sarutobi said as he signaled to his side.

On cue, a man donning a dog themed ANBU mask and a black cloak, which together effectively concealed his entire body, stepped forward from the shadows of the room and moved closer to the table. Giving the senior members of the village's council a small bow, the concealed man started to talk. "I have spoken with the people in charge of the village's gates and the barrier, they said that none of the security alarms for _him_ have triggered during this entire month, or ever since he left the village for that matter." The man informed before stepping back into the shadows.

Danzo scoffed disdainfully. "So, you are saying that it is a mere coincidence that the boy's Rider System bares the name of Decade?" He asked. "The same name _he_ gave to the project he worked on for over four years before he left the village!" The black haired man stated.

Sarutobi's eyes were void of any warmth. "Orochimaru left the village five years ago, at that time I personally searched the entire village for anything related to this Decade Project he was working on when he was discovered." The Hokage stated. "And now, since there are no signs that Naruto-kun has had any contact with my former student, ever, and I really doubt that he just happen to stumble on a piece of Orochimaru's research that has eluded us for so many years, I cannot accept that there is a connection between the two. So forgive me if I am not as incline to condemn Naruto-kun as traitor, as you so readily came here for."

Had Shimura Danzo been any less of a shinobi, he would have taken at step back due to the aura emanating from the Hokage as he spoke. "I am no here to condemn anyone." He said. "I just feel that we should not overlook this matter so easily." The man tightened his remaining fist. "With the way in which our world is in today, Kamen Rider Decade's power could throw everything into chaos."

Homura nodded. "That is true." He agreed. "Had it been anyone else but the boy, then the matter would not be nearly as complicated, but given the boy's… Preexistent conditions…" His words drifted at the lack of a solution to the problem.

"Anyways, that matter at hand is whether or not his presence in the B Class is a danger to the other young Riders." Koharu said, trying to reel the council meeting back on track again.

The head of the Rider Affairs Office slammed his fist one the table again. "We cannot know that!" The bandaged man exclaimed. "Unless we interrogate the boy and find out how he acquired his Rider system and what is the source for Decade's power!" He stated.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Sarutobi countered. "You know that you cannot torture the information out of him, and it could be disastrous if you try using a genjutsu on Naruto-kun, so your only option would be to ask him upright, and I sincerely doubt that he would be honest with you of all people." The Hokage pointed up, successfully suppressing a smirk from forming.

"Still, that does no answer the question whether or not he presents a danger to the other Riders." Homura tried to interject. "You should have waited before you…"

The councilman's words were cut off when the Sandaime Hokage stood from his seat. "In all honesty, I made the decision to place Naruto-kun in the B Class as a way to keep everyone safe." The Third said as he straightened his robe. "What Naruto-kun needs right now is guidance to understand this newfound power, but nothing is going to come out from all of us simply arguing like this, so I am just wasting my time here." He said turning around and walking towards the door. "I hope that all of you have a nice day." Sarutobi said before walking out of the room and leaving the rest of the council dumbfound behind him.

"Was that a smart thing to do?" The cloaked ANBU asked the Hokage, appearing before him in the corridor.

Sarutobi continued to walk as the masked man followed him. "Well, they are going to continue to argue for a little while longer, they will not come to a resolution, and instead they will focus their anger on me during the next council meeting." He said nonchalantly. "You know, same as always."

A laugh escaped the ANBU. "So what are you really going to do about Naruto?" He questioned.

The Hokage stopped on his track before looking back at the concealed man. "Do you remember what we talked about the other day?" A smirk appeared on the seasoned shinobi's face. "I think it is time for you to leave the ANBU Rider Corps." He said before continuing on his way, leaving the masked man behind.

Once out of the village leader was out of earshot, the ANBU let out an exasperated sigh. "Now I'm never going to be able to finish reading that book…" He complained before disappearing once more.

* * *

Naruto continued to flip the Decade card over on his hand. "So what is this exercise about?" The blond asked the two Riders in front of him.

"We never really know." Sakura answered. "I guess figuring out our objective is part of the assignment, right?" She asked her order classmate who was leading the trio.

Shino simply took a second to look back, nodded, and continued walking without saying anything.

A sigh escaped the spiky haired boy.

After arriving at the same field where the blonde's fight with Faiz took place the day before, Iruka-sensei simply announced to the class that Naruto would be joining them from that day on. The brown haired man then proceeded to ignore Kiba's outburst and separated the class into three teams of three for the day and sent each group to a different training field. So just like that, in less than fifteen minutes, Uzumaki Naruto became part of the Kamen Rider Academy's B Class.

"So, we don't get any other directions?" The new Rider questioned. "That sounds pretty stupid for such a prestigious academy…" He commented disdainfully.

Sakura took a second to glare at the boy. "It's not like that…" She countered. "The assignments are usually the same, either find and retrieve something in the training field, get to a specific area, or simply get past a certain obstacle." The pink haired girl pointed, her tone sounding just a tad condescending. "This is supposed to help us with unforeseen situation during real missing, but the objective always become clear, it's just a matter of time." She added.

Shrugging the girl's words off, the blond put the Decade card away. "Whatever…" He muttered before brining his hands to the back of his head. The young man's palm touched the headband wrapped around his head. "It feels wrong…" Naruto whispered to himself as he continued to walk.

The three Riders walked through the thick forest of the training field. Occasionally, Sakura would look back and steal a glance of her new classmate. The pink haired girl was a naturally curious person with just about everything around her. The day she acquired her Rider System, she immediately went to the library and researched everything she could about Kamen Riders until they throw her out, and then she returned the next day. Sakura had done the same with every mystery that presented itself to her and now a new one had.

While Sakura's friendship with Ino recovered since their childish rivalry, yesterday had been the first time that the girls had spent talking to each other all night in a really long time. The magenta colored Rider that the blond had transformed into was not only in the girls' but in the mind of everyone on Class B, and pink haired girl wanted to know more about it, because while all the Riders in the class were unique in their own way, there was certainly something different about Decade .

Unfortunately for the female Rider, every attempt to discover how the boy had obtained his powers was shut down. _"It would have been easier back in the day when he still had that crush on me…"_ She pondered for a second before trying another approach. "Hey… What you said during your fight with Kiba… What did you mean by that?" She questioned.

"Huh?" Naruto directed his attention towards the young woman.

"During the battle, you said _until I defeat all Riders_, what did you mean by that?" She asked again.

The blonde's eyes immediately left the girl, looking at everything else but her as he tried to find an answer.

A knowing smile appeared in Sakura's face. "I see… You want to take his title, right? Kamen Rider Odin's title." The girl stated.

Naruto's eyes immediately fell to the ground. "Odin…?" He said just below a whisper.

The pink haired girl nodded. "Yes, the first Rider, who until this day is still considered the most powerful Kamen Rider amongst us all." She said cheerfully.

The blond fidgeted with his head protector, trying to make it just a little bit comfortable. "No… I don't want to by like him…" He said in a solemn voice that surprised the female Rider and put an end to the discussion.

The three Riders continued to walk until Shino suddenly stopped. "It is here…"

Both Naruto and Sakura gave the black haired boy confused looks.

"The objective is here." The Aburame explained himself before pointing and the next patch of trees in front of them.

The blond was taken back when several green hunchbacked forms appeared in the training feels "They're Worms!" The spiky haired boy exclaimed as the monsters bore their elongated red claws at the trio.

"Yeah, they're Salis Worms." Sakura pointed out. "And with this many, I'm guessing that the goal of this exercise is to reseal all of them."

Naruto's eye looked at the young woman bewildered. "We have to fight them?" He asked.

The girl was confused by the boy's alarmed state, but answered either way. "Of course, the teachers unseal low level Worms for us to practice against." She informed casually.

The spiky haired teen shook his head in astonishment. _"In school, they taught us about how the Worms almost destroyed the human race, and yet here are the Riders unsealing those monsters like there were mere training dummies…"_ He bitterly thought. "So, we seal them, just like that…" The young man said still in disbelief before he placed the Decadriver on his waist and let it wrap itself around it as he ran towards the monstrous creatures.

"Naruto, wait!" Sakura called out to the blond. The girl started after her new classmate but she was stopped by Shino. The female Rider gave the black haired teen another confused look, but the pensive look on the hooded boy's face kept her from questioning his actions.

As he ran, the spiky haired boy took out the Decade card. "Henshin!" He declared before inserting the card into the Decadriver.

"_**Kamen Rider… Decade!"**_ The device called out. Immediately, several gray images appeared around the blond before converging on him, turning Naruto into Decade.

Before reaching the Worms, the magenta Rider took the Ridebooker from the left side of his belt. Two opposing corners of the device extended, one ending with a blade, forming a sword for its owner.

The blade came down on a slashing motion, sending out sparks as it made contact with the green monster. Immediately, the blond followed with a kick, sending the Worm falling backwards. Two more monsters approached the Rider from opposite sides, but Decade retaliated by moving his sword in a swiping motions, easily keeping the creatures at bay.

"So you are just going to let him fight by himself?" Sakura finally asked the hooded teen, but Shino remained silent, simply watching the situation unfold before him.

One of the Worms started a beeline towards the magenta Rider. Seeing this, Naruto quickly took out another card from the Ridebooker and inserted it into his belt buckle. _**"Attack Ride… Slash!"**_ The Decadriver announced before the Ridebooker's blade started to glow purple.

Brining down the empowered sword on the incoming Worm with force, Decade caught the monster in a flurry of sparks and smoke, reducing the creature to a mere card. Unfortunately for Naruto, the smoke from the explosion that sealed the worm prevented him from seeing the red claw closing in on him and knocking the Ridebooke off his hand. "Look out!" The blond heard Sakura called out, but it was too late to prevent to other Worms from hitting the blond in the chest with their own claws and sending him flying back.

Decade's back hit the bark of a tree before falling to the ground. By the time the teen got back to his feet, the Worms were already surrounding him. The unarmed Rider punched the closest monster away, but two other snuck on his back and swiped their class down on him, sending the spiky haired boy back to the ground.

Naruto tried his best to fight off the chrysalis-like creatures, but without his sword they were closing in on him.

Suddenly, a red, robotic looking beetle flew in front of the blond and started to push the Worms away with surprising force. Through his green visors, Decade watched the beetle fly back towards Shino's outstretch hand.

"Henshin…" The boy spoke before placing the beetle on his belt buckle.

"_**Henshin**_" The red beetle repeated before a bulky, robotic armor materialized around the Aburame's body.

The blond watched awestruck as the massive Rider took a couple of steps towards him and the Worms. "Cast Off…" Shino's voice said as the large warrior brought his hand to his buckle and flipped the beetle's horn over.

"_**Cast Off"**_ The device sounded before pieces of the Rider's thick armor broke away and were shot off in all directions, revealing a sleeker, black and crimson colored Rider with large blue eyes and a prominent rhino beetle horn rising on his helmet. _**"Change Beetle"**_ The buckles announced once Kamen Rider Kabuto's transformation was completed.

Shino directed his eye towards the magenta Rider. "Pay close attention…" The Rider said, raising a kunai-like weapon with a golden blade in his left hand, before hitting a button on the right of his belt.

"_**Clock Up"**_

As the wounded Rider made his way back to his other teammate, he could not help but watch in amazement how the blur that Kabuto had become ran back and forth through the Worms, sending sparks flying of their bodies

"Incredible, isn't it?" Sakura's voice snapped Decade off his thoughts. "But then again, it is to be expected, after all, Shino is second in our class." She informed. "The strongest Rider we have after Sasuke-kun." The pink haired girl said smiling smartly.

Naruto's eyes returned to the one-sided battle. The realization of how much how much farther he needed to go dawned upon him.

Suddenly, Kabuto's figure reappeared facing his teammates and giving his back to the Worms. _**"Clock Over"**_ The beetle on the Rider's buckle announced before each of the green monsters was caught in an explosion, leaving behind nothing but a card.

"Naruto…" Shino started to speak. "I do hold neither your disdain for the Riders nor what happened to Kiba against you, but I cannot tolerate the way you undermine the duties that each of us has as a Kamen Rider." The Aburame strongly stated. "We as Riders fight to protect this village and those we care about, that is the answer I have arrived at for the meaning behind every time cried out the word _Henshin _and we transform using this powers we were given."

Decade eyes dropped to the ground as he found himself dumbfound by the crimson Rider's words.

Seeing that his point got across, Shino directed his hand towards his buckle to remove the beetle, but his actions were stop by an abrupt sound coming from behind him.

The three Riders watched as the last remaining Worm stood up. Suddenly, the green shell that covered its body started to peel off, revealing a sleeker, black and orange arachnid body.

"It is molting… Sakura…!" Kabuto said giving the girl a look before the Worm rushed towards the group.

The young woman immediately took out a small white case with a golden crest on it, which looked vaguely like a bird. "Henshin!" The pink haired girl called out as he inserted the case into her belt buckle. Several gray images overlapped Sakura's body giving out a blinding flash.

Naruto witnessed as Kamen Rider Femme, donning a white armor adorned with gold, brandishing a rapier, and wearing a cape, rushed forward.

Just as the evolved Worm was about to attack Shino, Sakura took out a card from the case on her belt and inserted it on the guard of her rapier. _**"Guard Vent"**_ The weapon called out.

Immediately, a shield that resembled a pair of wings appeared on Femme's arm, which she used to block the Worm's attack and push the monster back.

Kabuto took advantage of the opening and slashed at the Worm with his own weapon.

Decade watched in amazement as the crimson and white Riders easily fought off the creature. Sakura would block the Worm's attacks and create opening that Shino would use to send quick strikes of his kunai. "These teams were only formed for today's assignment…" The blond spoke to himself. "Does teamwork come so easily to the Riders?"

Femme pushed the Worm back again and attacked it herself with her rapier. "Are you just going to stand there, Naruto?" She asked the magenta Rider. "Get off your ass and do something!" The Haruno commanded.

Snapping out of his thoughts, the spiky haired teen looked around the field until he found his missing Ridebooker and rushed for the device. Taking a card out, Decade looked up just in time to see Kabuto striking with his kunai before delivering a powerful kick that sent the Worm flying towards a tree.

"Naruto…" Shino said standing upright and lowering his weapon. "Finish it."

Nodding at his teammate's words, the blond inserted the card into his buckle. _**"Final Attack Ride… De-De-Decade!"**_ The belt announced, generating multiple holographic cards that formed the Dimensional Road between Decade and the Worm.

Before the monster could recover, Naruto jumped to the air and kicked forward, sending his body down the Dimensional Road, and ending with a devastating kick on the Worm that erupted in a massive explosion.

Once the dust and smoke dissipated, Naruto crouched down and picked up a card showing the arachnid Worm. The blond proudly showed the card off at his teammates as the three Riders powered down.

"Keep the card, it is prove that we completed our assignment." Shino said walking towards the spiky haired boy.

Naruto nodded at the hooded teen before turning to his other classmate. Catching the young man off guard, Sakura delivered a slap across the blonde's face. Confused sapphire eyes looked bewildered at the pink haired girl.

The Haruno glared at the boy rubbing his cheek in front of her. "How… How could you try to use an attack like that against Kiba…?" She asked, barely able to contain her anger.

Too astonished to answer the female Rider's question, all that Naruto cold do was dumbly look back into the girl's emerald eyes.

"You could have seriously hurt Kiba! Or even destroy his Rider System!" Sakura exclaimed before turning around and walking way.

Shino watch the pink haired girl walk away before pushing his glasses back and starting on his way as well, only giving the blond a fleeting glance.

Naruto remain where he was standing until his teammates were almost out of sight. "Isn't that what I'm supposed to do…?" The young man questioned while Sakura's words echoed in his head.

* * *

"Hokage-sama, I have the report from today's assignment, as you requested." Iruka dutifully informed, presenting a folder to the village leader.

The Third smiled at the Rider. "Thank you, Iruka, I hope it was not an inconvenience." Sarutobi said as he grabbed the folder.

The brown haired man immediately shook his head. "Not at all, Hokage-sama." He stated as the Sandaime started to look over the document. "As you can see, every team was successful in completing their assignment."

Nodding the Hokage turned the page. Seasoned eyes brightened slightly. "Well, it appears that Naruto-kun's group was the first one to fulfill its mission." He commented happily.

Iruka scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Yeah, but it seems that there was some sort of altercation between Naruto and Sakura…" He said, sounding almost apologetic.

"It is only their first day, I am sure Naruto will eventually get along with all of his classmates." Sarutobi said, shrugging the incident off. "By the way, where is B Class now?" The Hokage inquired.

"They are still in the training field waiting to be officially dismissed for the day." The brunet answered. "If you pardon my intrusion, why are asking that, sir?" The Rider questioned once he saw an almost mischievous smile appear on the Hokage's face.

The smile widened as the Third leaned back on his chair. "Let's just said that earlier to day I finally convinced a certain someone to go and take a look at Class B." The village leader said.

At the Sandaime's words, Iruka's eyes widened. "You don't mean…?" The Hokage nodded his responds before the brown haired man could finish his question. Sighing, the Kuuga Rider excused himself and immediately headed off towards the training ground before things got out of control.

* * *

Kiba growled as he sat back up. "Argh! I can't decide!" The Inuzuka exclaimed.

"What about?" Chouji inquired as he ate his chips.

"Normally I should be happy that Sasuke's team didn't come in first." The leather clad teen explained. "But I don't want that bastard's team to win either!" Kiba called out, pointing at Naruto who was sitting apart from the rest of the class.

The Akimichi gave his classmate a look. "Are you really that shallow?" The large teen asked before returning his attention to his food.

"Yeah, Kiba, this isn't some competition." Ino said, standing over the Faiz Rider.

Kiba snorted. "Shut up, Ino, you're just mad because you weren't in the same team with your little Sasuke-kun." The young man mocked.

"What did you said, you mutt?" The blond girl screamed in anger.

"You heard me, you pig!" The Inuzuka shot back as he stood up and returned the glare to his classmate.

From the edge of the group, Sasuke sighed in exasperation at his classmate's antics. Vaguely, the Uchiha stole a glance at the spiky haired boy that that peaked the interest of every one in Class B the day before. The truth be told, the raven haired teen would have prefer to be assigned on the same on team as the blond to find out more about his unique abilities.

Suddenly, a strong new presence was felt on the training field. Looking around Sasuke saw a figure approaching the group.

The newcomer wore a black tactical vest that exposed him as a full fledge Rider for the village, but the most prominent and peculiar part of his attire was the white fedora hat with a black stripe that successfully concealed his face.

By then, the rest of Class B had become aware the new arrival. Once he was on earshot of the class, the man raised his head, though not enough for the young Riders to see pass the hat, and surveyed the group. "Now, count up your worth…" He suddenly said as he pointed at Naruto. "You with the bruised cheek, stand up."

* * *

**A/N: With this, there's only one chapter left for this introduction and the first arc can begin.**

**Now, I must confess that my knowledge of Kamen Rider only truly extends to Den-O through Double, and just bits of the rest. So, if anyone is willing to help me with the stuff from the other series, it would be appreciated.**

**To wrap things out, thank you to all of you who read this story, especially those of you who reviewed. Also, the challenge to guess who the Riders will be is still up.**


	4. Beginning of a New Road

**A/N – And here's the last intro chapter for this crossover. I will like to thank all of you who offered to help me with the Kamen Rider stuff, I really appreciate it.**

**Grimandgrimmer, one of your guesses was extremely close, but not for the reason you may think.**

**There's no exposition segment in this chapter, so let's just dive right into the action of Rider World's chapter 4…**

* * *

_**Beginning of a New Road**_

The newcomer wore a black tactical vest that exposed him as a full fledge Rider for the village, but the most prominent and peculiar part of his attire was the white fedora hat with a black stripe that successfully concealed his face.

By then, the rest of Class B had become aware the new arrival. Once he was on earshot of the class, the man raised his head, though not enough for the young Riders to see pass the hat, and surveyed the group. "Now, count up your worth…" He suddenly said as he pointed at Naruto. "You with the bruised cheek, stand up."

The blond looked curiously at the man. "What…? Me?" The spiky haired teen muttered from his seat on the ground.

"Yes, you with the dumb expression, stand up and transform." The man restated.

Naruto obeyed the first part of the command by pushing his body off the dirt, but his hand kept the Decadriver away from his waist. "Why…?" He questioned.

The mysterious Rider ignored the young man's question as he continued to survey the rest of the class. "Chubby, you too, and the other blond, stand up." He nonchalantly ordered, signaling at Chouji and Ino.

"Just wait a second, just who the hell are you?" The Yamanaka girl demanded to know before following the command.

A sigh escaped the man. "Do you give Iruka this much trouble?" He asked. "My name is Hatake Kakashi, and I am here to administer your next test." He said finally looking up and revealing what the white hat hid. "And I will say it just one more time, stand up."

To the surprise of Class B, most of the man's face was still hidden. A dark blue face-mask covered all the way from the Rider's chin to his nose, while a slanted head band concealed his forehead and most of the left side of his face, leaving only his silver hair and his right eyes for the students to see.

Despite the passive look on Kakashi's eye, something about the way it scanned the entire class with a single glance intimidated the young Riders into obeying. "Wha… What are we suppose to do?" Ino asked warily.

By the shift of fabric in the face mask, the students could see that the silver haired man was smirking as he took out a small, black rectangular object and pressed a button on it. _**"Skull…!"**_ Small artifact called out.

Taking the white had completely off his head, the smirk in the Hatake's face widened. "Henshin…" He uttered placing the black object into a red belt buckle on his waist and pushing the entire buckle to the side.

"_**Skull!"**_ The device repeated before black particles gathered around Kakashi's body, transforming the man into Kamen Rider Skull.

The members of B Class watched the more experienced Rider in awe. He had a black body with silver highlights, a white battered scarf, and a silver cranium-like head, adorned by an S-shape crack on top of it that was soon covered when the man placed the white hat back on.

"You have to get pass me and take the hat off." The silver haired man said, signaling to his headwear. "By any means necessary."

Shikamaru immediately shot up. "Hold on a second! Teachers aren't supposed to use their Rider Systems against students!" The Nara stated bewildered.

"This is a special test." Kakashi retorted. "I am here to assess your grasp on your individual Rider Systems." He said, shifting his feet slightly, yet making his presence appear a lot more hostile. "So, let's start…"

Naruto glanced at his side and saw the two other students that the silver haired Rider had call out take a wary step back. Clenching the Decadriver tightly in frustration at his classmates' behavior, the blond directed his glare towards Skull before placing his belt buckle around his waist. "Henshin!" He called out as he inserted a card in device.

"_**Kamen Rider… Decade!"**_ The Decadriver called out, generating several gray figures around its owner. Immediately, the images converged in the middle and the blond was replaced by Decade. The magenta Rider dashed off towards the silver haired man.

Forgetting completely about the white hat, Naruto took the chance of being in front of a full-fledged Rider and took at swing at the man's helmet.

Kakashi easily moved his head out of way and successfully evaded the spiky haired boy's incoming fist. _"His… Eager, I'll give him that…" _Skull continued to dodge and sidestep Decade's punches and kicks until finally grabbing the blond by the wrist and twisting his arm until it was pressed against his back before sending the magenta Rider headfirst to the ground. "Well… That was ineffective, but at least he's the only one that can follow orders." He commented as one of the feet kept Naruto from pushing himself off the ground.

"Bastard…" The blond growled from behind his mask.

Ignoring the downed Rider, Kakashi surveyed the rest of Class B. "Anyone else care to join in?" He asked, but it was evident to him that the latest display had made the other students even more apprehensive to transform.

After struggling with himself for a while, Chouji shook the hesitation off him and took a step forward.

"Chouji!" Ino called out in alarm as she saw her classmate take a decorated golden tuning fork out.

The Akimichi hit his knuckle with the instrument and, as the fork vibrated, it started to emit a black energy wave. "Henshin!" He stated as he brought the golden artifact to his forehead. As the dark wave washed over the young man, Chouji's body flashed red for a moment before being engulf in purple flames.

Suddenly, the flames were swept away, revealing a very different figure. Instead of the Akimichi's heavy physique, this individual was far slimmer, which made his muscle appear more prominent in its purple Rider armor, and in place of the normal large pair of eyes, two small horns sat on top his helmet while red lines decorated his face.

Kamen Rider Hibiki did not waste anytime and immediately rushed towards Skull and the downed Decade.

The incoming Rider made Skull remove his foot off Naruto. Unlike the blond, the brown haired teen was not simply swing his fist and legs around, forcing the silver haired man to block his attacks instead of simply dodging them.

Not wanting to be outdone, Ino resigned to her fate and inserted a card into a silver device with a green center. Placing the artifact on her waist, a stream of cards shot from it and wrapped around her, forming a belt. "Henshin." She said before pulling the buckle open.

"_**Open Up"**_ The device called out before a large, red card depicting a three-headed dog was projected in front the Yamanaka and started to reel back, passing over the young woman's body. Ino's figure was replaced by the black and silver body with red highlights and large sharp eyes of Kamen Rider Larc.

Having two fairly well trained Riders attack at the same time was proving increasingly annoying for Kakashi. _"I have to hand it to them, they have their teamwork down…"_ The silver haired man pondered after witnessing how the pair of students was taking advantage of Chouji's superior strength to attack him head on, while Ino used her speed to take advantages of any opening and deliver a quick strike. None of their attacks have landed, but Skull knew it was a matter of time before one of the made a grab for his hat.

Shifting his tactics to more offensive, the experienced Rider delivered a strong kick to Hibiki's chest, sending the young man tumbling back, and his large body falling over Larc, taking both of them down to the ground.

Immediately, Kakashi was reminded of the third student taking his _test_ when a shadow above him caught his eye. Decade was flying down towards him with a leg extended, ready for powerful kick.

With no enough time to dodge the incoming attack, the black Rider brought his arms up for defense. Skull was taken by surprise when the blonde's kick turned out to be far stronger that he had expected and pushed his body back, almost costing him his balance.

The moment Naruto's feet touched the floor, the magenta Rider lunged forward with a roar and try to tackle the silver haired man. Despite his shoulder making contact with his opponent's abdomen, the silver haired man was only pushed back slightly and refused to lose his footing.

"Nice try." The older Rider said with a condescending tone before delivering a powerful blow with his forearm to the boy's back, causing the blond to relinquish his hold on the silver haired man, and proceeded to kick the teen towards his classmate.

Chouji and Ino converged where the spiky haired boy had landed. "He's in a completely different league…" Larc commented as she nervously brought one of her hands up to where her mouth would be.

Hibiki nodded in agreement. "This is the real power of the Kamen Riders… We should think of a plan to get that hat before attacking him again."

Decade pushed himself off the ground and sent a glare through his green visors towards the other two Riders. "You do that…" The blond muttered before dashing towards Skull all by himself once more, ignoring the calls from the pair he left behind.

Kakashi shook his head at what he witnessed. "Not a smart move." He said as he patiently waited for the younger Rider. The silver haired man easily caught the spiky haired teen's fist and moved his hand to the side, leaving the young man's chest completely open for Skull to connect with a strong punch.

The force of the fist sent Naruto stumbling back, but he remained standing. The magenta Rider try to tackle his opponent one more time, but the moment he move forward he received a roundhouse kick on the side of his head.

The older man was surprised once more when his kick, while it obviously stunned the young student, nevertheless failed to take him down as well. To rectify his mistake, Skull prepared a second kick with enough force to undo the spiky haired boy's transformation.

Unexpectedly, Chouji pushed the paralyzed Rider out of the way and blocked the swiping kick. Being taken back by Hibiki's intrusion, Kakashi let an opening for the purple Rider to land a powerful punch to his chest.

For the first time since the test begun, Kamen Rider Skull's back touched the ground. Unfortunately for the students in B Class, the experienced Rider used the same momentum from the Akimichi's fist to immediately jump back to his feet, skillfully preventing any dirt from coming in contact with the white hat.

The brown haired teen charge forward once more, successfully blocking one of the older man's strike and landing yet another punch. Hibiki pushed his luck to the limit after blocking a second strike by reaching up for the fedora hat. His finger had just touched the white fabric when the purple Rider felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Looking down, the young man could see his opponent's arm and his hand closed in a fist extended as his own body was pushed back.

Before the Akimichi could recover, Kakashi connected a series of quick strikes that culminated with a devastating kick that send the brown haired boy flying back, losing his Rider from when his body finally fell back on the ground, to the dread of the rest of the class.

Without wasting any time, the silver haired man pointed at the group of untransformed students. "You with the face paint, sub in." He ordered.

Shaking off his creeping fear with a roar that resembled a bark, Kiba stood up and took out his phone-like device. _**"Standing By…"**_ The device announced after the boy pressed the necessary buttons.

"Henshin!" The Inuzuka called out raising the phone in his hand before placing it as the buckle of his belt.

"_**Complete"**_ The Rider System declared before Kiba's body was surrounded by glowing red lines. A flash of light finished the young man's transformation into Kamen Rider Faiz.

Flicking his wrist, the brown haired teen roared one more time before charging toward the older Rider.

Similar to his action with the magenta Rider, Skull simply dodged the Inuzuka's wild attacks until an opening show itself and he kicked the student right on his silver plated chest, sending him back.

Before the Hatake could think of his next course of action, he felt something constrict his arm. Looking at his side, Kakashi found Ino with a secure hold on his arm.

Just as the Yamanaka reached for the black Rider's white hat, the silver haired man swiped his restricted arm violently, using enough force to sent the blond girl flying away.

Finally fully recovered, Decade glared at Skull, his fists tightening in anger and frustration to the point they hurt. "Damn you…" The blond muttered as he took the Ridebooker off its holster and switch it to Gun Mode. "Eat this!" He exclaimed before shooting at the older Rider.

Though the silver haired man was able to easily side step the blast, the entire training field went quite. "You… You just shot at a teacher…" Sakura managed to break the veil of silence, her voice was a mix of bewilderment, alarm, and anger.

For his part, the Hatake simply looked at the magenta Rider. "I did say to take my hat through any means necessary… So once again, good job." He commented, fixing the fedora that went askew while he dodged the gun blast. "Here's your reward." Kakashi suddenly added before quickly taking a black gun strapped to the side of his belt and shooting at Naruto.

The spiky haired boy was barely able to jump out the way before the place where he had been standing seemingly exploded.

"How can a teacher shoot at a student?" Ino asked alarmed at all the kinds of wrong she was witnessing.

The older Rider simply turned towards the blond girl and pointed the Skull Magnum at her. "Like this." He responded before releasing a barrage of blasts towards Larc.

The force of the shot threw the Yamanaka back, forcing the girl out of her transformation as she painfully fell on the ground.

"You bastard!" Kiba barked as he lunged for the black Rider.

Kakashi skillfully grabbed the Inuzuka's wrist and used the young man's own momentum to fling him away. Without even looking, the Hatake brought his gun up, successfully blocking a strike from Decade's Ridebooker Sword Mode. Pushing the magenta Rider and his weapon off with the Skull Magnum, the silver haired man kicked the blond on the chest, causing him to fall back.

Finally given a moment, Skull addressed the rest of the class. "The pink haired girl with the morally-outraged expression, stand up." He commanded, signaling at the Haruno.

Overruling her hesitation, Sakura stood up. "Henshin" She called out before placing her Advent Deck into the front of her belt. Several images overlapped on the girl, changing her into Kamen Rider Femme.

The white Rider attacked the silver haired man, but unlike her classmates, instead of recklessly attacking, her strikes were more mindful of any countermove the Hatake might implement.

"You will never get the hat if you stay in the defensive." Kakashi tried to bait the young woman. After deeming his attempt unsuccessful, the older Rider tried pulling the Skull Magnum on Femme, placing it mere inches from her face, but before his fingers could press the trigger, Faiz leaped onto him.

The yellow eye Rider brought Skull to the ground with him and attempted a grab for the hat, unfortunately, the downed man kicked the Inuzuka away for his troubles.

Standing up, Kakashi was about to move to retaliate against Kiba when a series of shots landed in from of him, stopping the man on his tracks. Glancing at his side, the older man saw Decade switching his weapon from Gun to Sword Mode as he charged towards him.

Skull sidestepped the first sword slash and blocked the second with his gun, but this left him open to a kick from the magenta Rider. Staggering back slightly, the Hatake regained his ground and pull the Skull Magnum forwards, releasing a short burst of shots.

Naruto managed to block some of the shots with his sword, but the majority landed on his chest throwing him back.

Taking advantage of his opponents back turned toward him, the Inuzuka leaped into the air once more and sent a kick at the older Rider's direction, unfortunately, the silver haired man turned around in time bring his arms up and nullify most of the attack's impact.

The brown haired teen landed back on the ground and charged for the black Rider once more, but his abdomen was greeted by the end of the Skull Magnum.

Kakashi released a short, but almost point blank, burst from his gun into the Inuzuka's stomach and chest. By the time Faiz's body hit the ground, he was already Kiba again. "Brooding kid with the bed-hair, your next." Skull said, his large black eyes falling on Sasuke.

Immediately, the Uchiha stood up and inserted a card into a silver device.

On cue, the artifact sprung to life, revolving around Sasuke as a stream of cards came out from one of its side and wrapped around the raven haired teen, ultimately becoming a belt with the device as the buckle. "Henshin!" Class B's top student proclaimed before pulling a lever on the buckle, causing its front to flip over into a red and gold spade card.

"_**Turn Up"**_ The belt called out as a large blue card depicting a beetle appeared in front of Sasuke. The Uchiha charged forward with the determination, going through the projected card and emerging as blue and silver Kamen Rider Blade on the other side.

Following the blonde's example, Sasuke ran through the field already wielding his weapon. The raven haired teen's sword swung at the older Rider.

Due to the speed of the strike, Kakashi was forced to bring his gun up to block the silver and blue sword. Unfortunately, the silver haired man underestimated the young student's strength and was pushed back by the Uchiha's Blay Rouzer.

Before Skull could retaliate Blade's attack, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Decade had rejoined the battle, striking down with his own sword.

Kakashi found himself losing ground as both boys took swings at him with their weapons. There was no real teamwork between the two young Riders, and instead Kakashi could feel something akin to bloodlust in their attacks.

The Hatake could not concentrate on one of the B Class students for too long, because that immediately presented an opening to other, which restricted Skull to only being able to block their strikes and keep backing way. It had been a long time since Kakashi found himself on the losing side of a battle, and he now remember how much he disliked the feeling. Taking things up a notch, the black Rider suddenly swung his leg in a roundhouse kick that was strong enough to send both boys flying back.

The moment their backs hit the ground, both Naruto and Sasuke found themselves facing the wrong end of the Skull Magnum.

Wondering which one would lose his transformation first, the silver haired man unleashed a barrage of blast from his gun.

"_**Gurad Vent"**_ The announcement was heard just before Femme jumped between the blast and her classmates, stopping the shots with her raised shield.

"About time…" Decade commented as he got back to his feet, receiving a glare from the female Rider.

Blade shook off attack he had received. "One direct blast from that gun and you're done for…" The Uchiha commented. He had not expected the black Rider to be so strong, but considering that the man was an experienced warrior for the village, the Uchiha had no problems to admit his mistake.

Sakura glanced at the blue Rider. "So what do we do?" She asked, still holding her shield up.

Sasuke pondered their situation. "Can you block those shots?" The raven haired teen asked the young woman.

"For a little while, yes…" Sakura tentatively answered.

"Enough to get me within striking distance?" Blade inquired, receiving a nod from the white Rider, not only as answers but as well as a sign that she understood his plan. The Uchiha glanced at his other classmate. "I'm not going to tell you what to do, but if you want to beat this test…"

Decade cut the raven haired teen off with a scoff. "Just shut up and get ready." The blond said.

The three Kamen Riders charged forwards.

Kakashi could guess what the students' plan was, but decided to humor them either way. So, Skull's only form of retaliation was shooting at the white shield with the Skull Magnum.

Once they were close enough, Naruto and Sasuke jumped over their classmate, striking down at the black Rider with all of their might.

Not wanting to be caught by surprise yet again, the Hatake planted his feet firmly on the ground and brought his gun up, successfully absorbing the entire force of the attack and leaving the young Riders bewildered.

"This is not enough… We need more strength…" The Uchiha said as he and the blond struggled to try and push the older man back.

The magenta Rider simply brought a card up and showed it to his classmate. Kakashi could have sworn that the raven haired teen scoffed in response as he too brought out a card of his own.

The silver haired man watch in curiosity as Decade inserted his card into his buckle. _**"Attack Ride…"**_ The device announced. Next to the spiky haired boy, the Blade swiped his card through an aperture on his Blay Rouzer.

"_**Slash!"**_ Both artifacts called out in unison.

Their swords charged with energy, both Riders flung them down, pushing Skull away with an x-shape energy blast.

Before Kakashi could recover from the combined attack, a gunshot hit the silver haired man in the shoulder. Looking up, he could see the Uchiha closing in while the Uzumaki provided covering fire with his weapon in Gun Mode.

Sasuke took advantage that his opponent was preoccupied with trying to block the gun blast and swung his Blay Rouzer once more, knocking the Skull Magnum out of the Hatake's hand.

"It's my turn now." Naruto commented as he inserted another card into the Decadriver.

"_**Final Attack Ride… De-De-Decade!"**_ The buckle announced, immediately projecting the row of golden holographic cards connecting the blond to the silver haired man.

Kamen Rider Skull had read the file on the spiky haired teen's unusual Rider System, including the part about what was dubbed as Decade's _final_ move. So when the magenta Rider jumped to the air, the silver haired man was already preparing to jump out of the kick's way and retrieve his gun.

In what seemed to be a recurring concept, the blond surprised Kakashi yet again when, instead of kicking forward, Naruto brought his gun up and sent a shot down the Dimensional Road in midair.

The red blast from the Ridebooker grew larger and larger with each card it passed through.

The Hatake managed to jump away from the blast, but he never expected the explosion that ensued to be so large and strong. The white fedora hat was blown away from Skull's head and into the air by the shockwave.

By the time Kakashi could even think about reaching for the hat, Femme leaped into his field of view and caught the strayed headwear.

Skull's eyes looked over the three young, and already exhausted, Riders. "So I lost…" He stated, his eyes lingering in the only one from the first trio that remained. "I guess you pass." Kakashi added nonchalantly.

"What the hell is going on here?" The eyes of everyone in the training field moved towards the source of the new voice.

Iruka appeared in the clearing and scanned his class. The tanned man could see the bruised Choji, Ino, and Kiba, the transformed, but weary, Decade, Femme, and Blade, and in the middle of it all Kamen Rider Skull.

"Kakashi… What did you do…?" The Kuuga Rider asked, trying to keep his temper in check.

The silver paired man took the Skull Memory out of his belt buckle, undoing his transformation. "Before you start, Iruka, I had permission from the Hokage." The Hatake stated.

"You…" The Academy teacher started but took a moment to compose himself. "Why would Hokage-sama give permission to someone from the ANBU Rider Corps to fight my students?"

Kakashi lazily shrug his shoulder. "I accepted the Hokage's request for me to become one of Class B's Team Heads on the condition that I would get to pick my team." The Skull Rider informed. "So this test was the only thing I could think of that would help me make my decision."

Iruka was about to argue the silver haired man's words when Femme stepped forward. "Hmm… Iruka-sensei, what Hatake-san said… About the teams…" The girl inquired.

A sigh escaped the Kuuga Rider. "Yes, I was going to inform the class that you would be going to the next step of your education." The tanned man responded before addressing the entire class. "B Class will be further divided into groups of three, each with an experienced Rider as teacher." He said, immediately causing murmurs between the students.

"Just in case you're wondering, I pick this three for my team." Kakashi told Iruka, pointing at the three transformed teenagers, and disappeared in a swirl of leaves before the brown haired Rider could object to his words.

Shaking his head in frustration, Iruka turned to his class one more time. "Ok guys, good job today." The scarred man praised. "Tomorrow I'll tell you what… I guess what the two other teams are." He added letting out another sigh. Suddenly, the Kuuga Rider turned towards the blond. "Naruto, could you stay back for a second?" He requested.

Decade powered down and sighed himself, but nevertheless stood put as his teammates vacated the training field.

* * *

Naruto glanced down at the bowl of ramen in front of him and then to his side at the tanned man already eating his own serving.

"I can't believe it, Naruto-kun becoming a Rider!" Ayame exclaimed from the other side of the ramen bar. The blond send the young woman a halfhearted glare. "I didn't know that pigs were taking flying lesson." She commented, sticking her tongue out at the spiky haired boy before returning to her work.

The teenager returned the gesture at his friend's back before addressing his teacher. "So, why did you treat me to ramen?" He asked the older Rider.

Iruka gave the boy a curious look. "Well, your induction to the class was so rushed, that I wanted to at least give you a chance to celebrate." The tanned man explained.

Letting out a short, dry laugh, the blond lazily picked up his chopsticks. "There's not much to celebrate for me…" He commented.

"Now don't say that, being a Kamen Rider is not that bad." Iruka offered but was completely ignored by his student. Sighing, the scarred man tried again. "You know, I was a lot like you back when I was your age."

The man's confession caught the teenager's attention.

Laughing a bit at the blonde's raised eyebrow, the Kuuga Rider continued. "Yeah, I was also a mischievous little brat with dreams of becoming a shinobi." Iruka grinned as the blonde's eyes went turned a glare for a second before returning to anticipation. "But then I began to think… My parents died when there was only one Rider in Konoha, so maybe if there had been more of them, my parents would have survived."

Naruto scoffed. "So now you think ninjas are useless because they let your parents die…" The teen stated.

"I never said that." The brown haired man corrected. "I soon realized that it doesn't really matter between shinobi and Riders, had there only been more people able and willing to fight to protect others my parents might be alive."

The spiky haired boy's eyes were glued.

Iruka smiled down at the younger Rider. "So I don't care if it is as a ninja or as a Kamen Rider, I just want to be able to protect everyone in the village." He said. "It's a pretty nice wish, right?"

Naruto pondered silently while the tanned man finished his bowl of ramen.

"I do feel bad that I was your teacher for such a short time, Naruto-kun." The tanned man commented. "I wish I would have had more time to change your mind about the Riders." The Kuuga Rider suddenly stood up from his seat and paid for both his and his student's food before continuing. "But I have complete confidence in you, and I'm sure that, no matter what, this road that you're walking will make you into something great, Kamen Rider Decade." Iruka added with a grin before ruffling the boy's hair and departing.

The blond watched his teacher back get farther and father away. The blond couldn't help but feel a newfound admiration for the scarred man. Suddenly a strange sound snapped the young man out his thoughts.

Looking down, the spiky haired teen saw a card shoot into the air from the Ridebooker. Catching the small object in midair, Naruto witnessed as Kamen Rider Kuuga's image appeared on it.

* * *

**A/N – That scene just wouldn't end…!**

**Originally, this chapter was planned with four scenes, but it seems I underestimated one of them, take a guess which. So at the end two of the other scenes were combined into one and I decided to leave the last one for the next chapter and the beginning of the new arc. There's no introspective segment in this chapter, because that was suppose to be the scene that go move to chapter five. Also, I know that Hibiki doesn't say "Henshin" during his transformation but I thought he should so in this fic he is.**

**Lastly, most of the main character's Rider Systems have been revealed, but there are still a couple of others, some extremely important to the plot, so keep trying to guess who they are.**


	5. I Am Here

**A/N – So now that the set up/exposition/prologue chapters are out of the way, it's time to start getting the plot moving.**

**But first let's get a couple of things out of the way: Hishin Trueflame, your assessment of Diend's role in the story is about 90% accurate, that said, if you look a previous chapters you'll see that the First and Second Hokage cannot be Kamen Riders since the first one appeared just over 15 years prior, but more on that later on. RetardedFool, two of your guess were really close, but they still missed the mark.**

**A couple of changes will be implemented from now on. First the introspective section would only be for key chapters of the current arc. Second… See the bottom of this page for more details… And lastly, it's something I've see in other Kamen Rider fics, like Kyuugan's Code Decade, and I really liked it, there will only be one per arc, except for this current one because the one of this chapter actually belong to the prologue, you'll see what I'm talking about soon enough…**

**Ok, without any more rambling, here's the Rider World chapter 5.**

* * *

_**I Am Here**_

After so many years of research, little is known about the true nature of the Kamen Riders. Still, studies on the Rider Systems have made great technological advances all throughout the different countries. Even with the small portion of the secret of the Kamen Rider's powers have helped villages in the fields of medicine, security, and all around improvement of livelihood.

Many believe that, once the Worm threat was stopped, the true reason why the Hidden Villages did not resumed their war was out of fear of a battle between all the Kamen Riders. Fear of a Rider War that would consume everything.

Despite their monstrous strength, people still accepted the Riders as their saviors and regarded them in an exalted status because of all the good that they have brought to this world.

Even now I cannot bring myself to hate them.

No matter how much this body of mine suffers because of the existence of the Kamen Riders, it is all outweighed by the blessing that they have bestowed upon my village and the shinobi world in its entirety. So I will bear it all, until my body can provide the answers that have eluded the world for far too many years.

Odin is regarded as the most powerful Kamen Rider, but not for long. Someday, even he will be eclipsed by my shadow.

It is getting harder to now, the binds that restrict my body burn with the smallest move I make, and I don not know how much longer I can stay conscious. But I cannot let my body succumb to weariness, because the hopes and dreams of my entire village rely on me.

Somewhere deep inside me I know that I will overcome this and break free, just like I have always done, ever since the day I was choose to carry this burden. No… even before that, all the way back to the moment I arrived on this world.

I was put this world of Riders for a reason. I am here to fulfill my destiny. Is that not true…?

"**Don't worry… I won't let anything happen to you… Gaara…"**

That voice echoed in my head and it was the last thing I heard, before everything goes red.

* * *

Naruto walks slowly amongst the fog. The Decade Kamen Rider card can be seen on the ground ahead of him.

_Miageru hoshi_

The blond kneels down to pick up the card and looks up.

_Sorezore no rekishi ga kagayaite_

Several figures appear before the young man, looking at him as the mist starts to dissipate.

_Seiza no you_

Naruto straightens back up.

_Sen ga musubu shunkan hajimaru LEGEND_

From his perspective, all teen sees is a large number of Riders already transformed.

_AURORA yurameku jikuu o koete_

All the Riders charge at the blond who grips his card tightly before inserting it into the Decadriver.

_Tobikomu meisou suru PARALLEL WORLD._

Naruto rushes forward as he transform into Decade, brandishing his sword to meet the incoming Riders.

_ON THE ROAD_

Sakura looks desperately at the distance before her image is replaced by Kamen Rider Femme's.

_ Daremo tabi no tochuu_

As explosions go off around him, Decade slashes at Hibiki, then ducks out of the way of Faiz's roundhouse kick before punching him on the chest.

_Hontou no jibun jishin_

Hinata looks down as she prays. Her image is soon replaces by Ino's who then transforms into Kamen Rider Larc.

_Deau tame_

Decade catches Kabuto's fist before making an upwards slash, sending the Rider flying back.

_Atarashii yoake e to tsuzuku_

Kakashi and Iruka stand back to back. They are replaced by Skull and Kuuga, the former pointing his gun at something ahead.

_Michi ni kawaru no darou_

Somewhere amongst a thick fog, a figure in a brown coat, with most of his face hidden by a hat of the same color, smiles as he looks down at the cards in his hand.

_Mokugeki se yo_

Blade and Decade clash sword as more explosions go off around them, the latter pushes the former back before kicking him in the chest.

_JOURNEY THROUGH THE DECADE_

From inside his Decade armor, Naruto screams at the heavens.

* * *

"Hey… Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto said with a bored tone and his leaned his head back, pressing it against the palm of his hands.

The sounds of teeth gritting together was heard. "I swear Naruto, if you ask me _are we there yet_ one more time…" The silver haired man said in exasperation.

The spiky haired boy remained unfazed by the older Rider's threat. "It's not that…" He simply stated. "I was just wondering why you're still wearing that stupid white hat… I mean, I thought you only wore it for the test." The Uzumaki inquired.

Sasuke sighed as he walked behind his blond classmate and their teacher. _"This is not what I expected…"_ The raven haired boy pondered. After being confined to the village all of his life, gaining is own Rider System, and slowly climbing his way up the Rider Academy ranks the Uchiha had imagined his first mission outside the wall of Konoha to be a little more dramatic.

Instead, the Blade Rider, along with Naruto and Sakura, were led through the village gates around noon, despite the fact that the teacher had to them to meet by the gate by five o'clock in the morning, without a word on where they were going or what the mission was about. For the several hours that they had been walking, Sasuke had no choice but entertain himself by watching how the spiky haired teen annoyed their teacher.

"Naruto, could you be a little more respectful to our teacher?" Sakura asked from the back of the group.

The Decade Rider gave the pink haired girl a lazy look back before shrugging his shoulders. "Hey, I just want to know." He said before looking at Kakashi's back again. "So…?"

Letting out another exasperated breath, the silver haired man fixed his hat. "Well… I could that since I spent so much time in the ANBU Rider Corps, I like to have the majority of my face hidden at all times." The Hatake said, his voice carrying the faintest hint of amusement. "But I'll be lying since the main reason is simply because it just looks damn good on me." The Skull Rider said, looking back at his students and given them a grin through his face mask.

The younger Riders sent a collective glare at their teacher.

"Here you have the Kamen Rider you're so damn proud of…" Naruto disdainfully commented back at his teammates as he continued to walk.

Sakura moved her glared to her blond teammate while Sasuke simply sighed again.

After another hour of walking, Kakashi suddenly stopped on his track and motioned to his students to do the same. "Wait here…" He said right before he disappeared in an impressive show of speed.

Despite being impressed by the silver haired man's swiftness, Naruto's tone was still critical. "Now where the hell did he go?" The young man questioned as he turned to face his teammates.

"He must have felt something…" Sasuke stated as he try to focus his senses on his surroundings to discern what may have alerted the Skull Rider.

Sakura looked around the thick forest that their teacher had led them to. "I don't sense any…" The young woman's words were cut short by the reappearance of the Hatake.

The three students could clearly see the bothered expression that adorned Kakashi face when he returned. After pondering silently to himself for a couple of seconds, the silver haired man signaled his students. "Follow me…" He said as he led them further along.

The moment Naruto stepped out of the thick foliage, his sapphire eyes widened. In front of him was a clearing with what appeared to be the remnants of a campsite.

There were burn marks on the grass, threads made by bladed weapons along the grounds, trees broken in half, and dead bodies scattered everywhere.

"Well… This was our mission…" Kakashi announced as he scratched the back of his head.

The Femme Rider immediately looked at the silver haired man in confusion. "What do you mean, Kakashi-sensei?" She asked.

The Hatake fixed his hat before answering. "Well, we received a request from Suna… It seems that some sort of group or organization kidnapped a boy from their village and made it all the way to Fire Country, and because it could get messy if someone from the Hidden Sand was found wandering around here, they asked us to look into it." He explained. "But there was a high possibility that the kidnappers had Riders among them, so a Rider team was dispatched to deal with it." Kakashi said, signaling to himself and the three students.

Sasuke and Sakura felt their pride swell up at being considered full-fledged Riders, while Naruto gritted his teeth.

The silver haired man scanned the destroyed campsite over once more. "The recon team had narrowed the group's location down to this area… But it seems that things have gone awry since then…" He commented.

Naruto wandered around the clearing, kicking pieces of the wreckages way as he walked by. "Maybe they heard that Sakura was coming this way and ran away in panic." He commented offhandedly. "That would explain why this place is in such chaos… They just wanted to get as far away from her as…" The blonde's words were cut short when he turned around and was met by the murderous glare of emerald eyes right in front of him. Before the Decade Rider could say anything else, he felt something connect with the gut of his stomach and all the air inside his lungs was knocked out.

Sakura retreated back her fist from her teammate's gut and let the spiky haired boy fall unceremoniously to the ground.

"That… That was a little… Too much…" The young man said from his downed position through gasps as he struggled to retrieve his breath.

Sakura let out sound of indignation directed at the blond before turning to her teacher. "Hold on a minute, Kakashi-sensei…" The young woman said. "You already knew were the boy was being held hostage and you still took your leisurely time to get here?" The Femme Rider asked alarmed. "Something could have happen to him!"

The Hatake waved his student's outburst off. "Don't worry about it." He responded. "They wouldn't have gone to all the trouble of kidnapping and taking him out of the village to just kill him off without first making some sort of demand for ransom." The Skull Rider said as he walked towards one of the clearing's edges. "Besides, it seems that the kid got away…" He added as he knelt down and picked something up from the ground.

Getting back on his feet, the Uzumaki could see his teacher holding a set of broken bindings made up of a weird, metallic material.

"Well, let's head back home…" Kakashi suddenly announced as the straightened back up, earning shocked looks from his students. "I was hoping to give you some experience in fighting a couple of rogue Riders, but apparently they already had what was coming for them… So we should simply go back to the village and let the recon team find the kid. I'm sure he's just wandering around in the forest." The older man commented as he fixed his fedora.

"Hell no!" The three students cried out in unison as a responds for the Skull Rider's words.

Sasuke could not let his first mission outside the village end that way, Sakura was shocked that they would simply abandon the kidnapped boy to his luck like that, and Naruto was simply disgusted with his teacher dismissive attitude towards his duties.

The Hatake's sole action was to look at the younger Riders with a mix of annoyance and curiosity.

"We can't just leave the mission like this!"

"That boy could be hurt! Or whoever did all of this could have taken him!"

"There's no way I'm walking out of this mission!"

Kakashi held his hands up. "Calm down…" He lazily said.

Ignoring their teacher, the young Riders continued talking over each other about reason why they could not return to the village yet.

After a short while, the Skull Rider finally sighed in defeat. "Ok, ok, we can search the area ourselves…" The silver haired man offered, managing to calm down his students. "But since we do not know what direction this brat may have gone to, we will have to split up." He added as he looked over at the thick forest that surrounded the clearing. "So don't overdue yourselves and go too far off, because I'm in no mood to look for your sorry asses afterwards."

Naruto scuffed in responds. "Whatever… Like I need your help… I'm not going to get lost." The spiky haired teen said as he shrugged his shoulder, earning another look from his teammates.

"Yeah… I'm not that lucky…" The Hatake commented.

"What?" The blond shot back.

"Nothing, nothing…" The older man waved off. "Just make sure not to get in over your head with whatever you may find out there. We don't know if whoever did all this damage is still here or whether or not he's a hostile." He stated, receiving a nod from his students. "So, whatever you find, you report to me or Sakura immediately."

Naruto's attention immediately shot back towards his teacher. "Why to Sakura?" The teen asked.

Fidgeting with his hat, Kakashi gave the blond a bored look. "Didn't I tell you guys? When I'm not here, Sakura is in charge." He simply stated.

"What?" Both young men called out together in astonishment.

The Skull Rider shrugged his shoulders. "Well, Sakura was the one that caught the hat, so she gets to be your Team Leader. That was part of the rules for the test." The silver haired man stated.

The spiky haired boy gave an incredulous look at the older man. "What? You never mentioned that!" The blond exclaimed. "This is the first time we ever hear of that rule!" He added.

"Really? I could have sworn I said it back then…" Kakashi commented as he rubbed his chin through his face mask. "Oh well… Make sure to be back here by nightfall…" The Hatake said before turning around and walking out of the clearing, leaving his students behind.

"Wait! Hold on a second!" Naruto called out after the older Rider. "You can't be serious about Sakura being the leader! She did the least during the test and she…!" The blond stopped in mid sentence as he felt a searing glare directed at the back of his neck. Turning around the young man found himself face to face with his pink haired teammate once more.

Sakura tried her best to voice her question through her clenched teeth. "What were you going to say…?"

The Decade Rider directed his eyes anywhere but his teammate's emerald ones. "Wel… Well, I…" The young man stuttered. "It… It wasn't that you were the weakest member of the team and… That Sasuke and I wer… Were the only one that truly did anything during the test." The blond teen failed to see his raven haired teammate slapping himself on the forehead in the background. "It isn't that I think you are an inept warrior, because I mean we're already talking about Riders here…"

However the spiky haired boy's sentence was going to end, Sasuke would never know.

For the second time of the day, Naruto felt the wind knocked out of him by Sakura, who displayed a strength that the Uzumaki would have never associated with a girl.

"Whatever problems you may have, don't hesitate to ask your Team Leader!" The Femme Rider said brightly to the entire clearing as the blonde's body tumbled to the ground once more. Sakura looked back and offered the Uchiha a smile before looking down to direct one last dirty look at the fallen teen and walking out of the campsite indignantly.

Sasuke sighed as he walked towards his downed teammate. "You do have to admit that you were pretty much asking for it this time." He commented.

Naruto managed to send a glare up to the raven haired boy. "Go… To… To hell…" The spiky haired boy struggled to say.

Shrugging his shoulders, the Blade Rider simply continued his way towards the edge of the clearing, leaving the blond behind.

* * *

"That blasted woman…" Naruto grunted as he leapt from tree branch to tree branch, trying to ignore that annoying pain on his stomach. "All she did was caught me off guard…! Twice…!" The young man proclaimed to the forest. "And that Sasuke… Always acting all high and mighty, like he is some sort of superior human that's above everyone else…" He bitterly complained.

Annoying teammates aside, now that the spiky haired boy was all by himself, with no violent or brooding Riders around, he could almost enjoy himself. By concentrating just a little bit, the Uzumaki could pretend that the plate on his head protector was silver instead of black, and that he was a shinobi on his way to save an innocent child, instead of a Rider on a mission gone awry.

Jumping around the forest, even the weight of the Decadriver inside the teen's jacket disappeared.

A frown formed in the Uzumaki's face as he recalled the beating he received a couple of days prior, courtesy of the Skull Rider. _"I can't waste any time complaining about stuff…"_ He thought. _"This is the road I chose and I cannot back down…! I am here right now and I will get stronger than any other Rider!"_ The young mans exclaimed in his mind, before his eyes focused back on the path ahead. "Kakashi-sensei said not to go too far on our own, but like hell I'm going to listen to a Rider!" Naruto stated as he sped up his pace.

For some reason, the blond felt a sense of urgency about the mission. The Decade Rider truly wanted to find this abducted kid.

"Probably because there were Riders among the kidnappers… This kid is in this whole mess because of them!" The young man reasoned.

After about an hour of jumping through the forest, the spiky haired boy came into a halt on top of a large branch. The blonde's ears had heard several voices just ahead of his position. Recalling all the lessons about stealth back in the Ninja Academy, the Decade Rider cautiously approached the source of the voices.

As Naruto slowly moved forward, it became evident that the voices were also motion, quickly reducing their distance from the young man.

The Uzumaki stopped at the edge of a clearing and watched as three man walked in, arguing with each other. Before paying attention to the conversation, the blond made a mental note of their peculiar black-plated head protectors that lacked any form of engraving on them.

"Are you sure about the message?" One of the men asked.

The one in the middle frowned at the question. "Of course, they know better not to initiate any sort of communication unless it is an emergency!" He exclaimed.

"What do you think all of this is about?" The third man wondered. "You don't think that he caused all of this… I mean, he could not possibly…" He trailed off.

"I don't know and I don't care!" The middle one exclaimed. "As long as the boy is still secured, the others do not matter."

The man that had spoken first nodded in agreement. "Yes, we have to find them as soon as possible and get the kid out." He commented. "Before anyone from Sand or, Kami forbid, the Leaf shows up and tries to retrieve him,"

Naruto heard all that he needed to figure out the connection between the three newcomers and his mission. Ignoring both, the last lesson of his stealth classes and his current teacher's words, the blond jumped from his hiding place, landing on the clearing and in front of the three men. "Stop right there!"

The men were initially startled, but immediately recovered. "Who are you?" One of them asked.

The Decade Rider let out a short laugh. "I could ask you the same thing." He commented.

"Look at his forehead…" One of the men said pointing at the spiky haired boy. "Damn it, the Leaf is already here!" He exclaimed with a hint of panic in his voice.

The man in the middle took a step forward. "Don't get so frenzied, he might be from the Leaf, but he still just a brat." The apparent leader of the group pointed out. "He's nothing that we can't easily take care of." He added.

"I don't know about that…" Naruto commented with a smirk. "I can be quite a handful." The blond said as he placed the Decadriver by his waist, letting the device wrap around him. "Henshin!" He proclaimed, taking out a card and inserting it into his Rider System.

"_**Kamen Rider… Decade!"**_

As the grey images converged on his body, Naruto was replaced by Kamen Rider Decade.

The leader of the kidnapper group gave the young man an unimpressed look. "That's nothing, brat…" He commented as he moved his coat to the side, showing a bronze belt buckle with its front sticking upwards on his waist. Behind him, his comrades followed suit, revealing identical buckles.

"Henshin!" The three men called out in unison as the pushed down the front of the buckle, connecting it with the rest.

With a flash of light, all three men transformed into identical Riders. They were all black with a thick bronze-plated chest and a single large grey visor on their helmets.

Naruto's eyes widened as he remembered the words from the mysterious man that gave him the Decadriver. _"These must be… The mass produced Kamen Riders…"_ The boy thought.

"As you can see, it doesn't matter that you can transform." The middle Riotrooper said. "We're still three Riders against one!" He proudly stated.

Decade finally managed to snap out of his daze. Taking a card out of the Ridebooker, the blond regarded the three men through his green visor. "You know… Back in the Ninja Academy, the Bunshin jutsu was my worst technique." He commented as he inserted the card into his buckle.

"_**Attack Ride…"**_ The Decadriver activated. _**"Illusion!"**_

Two afterimages of the magenta Rider appeared by the young man's side, solidifying into perfect replicas.

One of the Riotroopers took a step back in astonishment. "Are those… Clones?"

Another short laugh escaped the blond. "Well, I guess things are even now." The Decade in the middle commented.

Immediately, the two sets of identical Riders charged forward at each other.

The real Naruto took on the leader of the Riotroopers, blocking his fist with his forearm and pushing him back with a punch to his bronze-plated chest.

The man staggered on his feet for a bit, but soon regained his balance. Glancing at his sides, he could see his comrades trying to fight off the magenta duplicates. Growling in frustration, the Riotrooper directed his fist towards the brat from Konoha.

Bringing both of his arms up, the blond managed to block the incoming punch. Ducking slightly to evade the bronze Rider's follow up left hook, Naruto kicked his opening in the chest, managing to knock him off his feet. "I told you not to underestimate me." The young man said.

"You damn brat!" The man roared as he jumped back on his feet. Unleashing a barrage of quick strikes with his fists, the Riotrooper managed to drive the younger Rider into the defensive. Taking an opening, the man raised one off his feet and aimed a powerful kick at his opponent's chest.

Fortunately for Decade, he was able to see the kick coming just in time, and managed to muzzle a large portion of the impact by brining his arms between his chest and his enemy's foot. Still the force of the attack was enough to seen the spiky haired teen flying back.

Managing to stay on his feet, Naruto looked up to see his opponent charging towards him. Closing his fist in determination, the blond shot forward, prepare to face his contender.

Two strikes met in the middle of the clearing, sending out a small shock wave from the point of contact.

Having the smaller body of the two, the Uzumaki was the first one to lose his footing and staggered back.

The Riotrooper took the chance and sent another devastating kick at the young man's chest, sending the magenta Rider falling back and into the ground.

Naruto rolled around the dirt from the force of the kick for a second. The blond looked up just in time to see the other two men punching and kicking his clones, making them turn into a blurry gray image before disappearing completely.

"Is that all you can do, brat?" The leader of the Riotroopers inquired as his comrades gathered around him.

Decade got back onto his feet. "No…" He said, trying to prevent any signs of weariness from affecting his words. "I also have this…" The magenta Rider added as he held a card on his left hand, while his right one switched the Ridebooker into its gun form.

The young man inserted the card into his buckles as he pointed his weapon at the three men. _**"Attack Ride… Blast!"**_ Several magenta-colored duplicates of Decade's gun appeared around the original, all releasing a large barrage of blasts at the Riotroopers.

The attack took the three men by surprise, overwhelming them in its flurry of blasts, especially the one in the middle.

"Captain!" One of the men called out as he saw his leader being sent flying by the force of the impact.

The bronze Rider lost his transformation before his body fell back into the ground and did not move again.

The remaining Riotroopers gathered around their fallen comrade. "Damn you…" One of them sent a growl at the younger Rider. "You'll pay for this!" He stated before taking out three cards and throwing to the ground before the blond.

As soon as they touch the dirt, the cards immediately started to glow. From the green lights, three chrysalis Worms appeared.

The monsters eyed the spiky haired boy before charging forward, their large red claws ready to strike at the young Rider.

Remember his previous encounter with a large number of Worms, Naruto gripped his gun tightly before shooting at creatures in an effort to keep them at bay.

The blast from the Ridebooker slowed the green monster down for a second, but they continued on their charge nonetheless.

Switching his weapon into its sword mode, the magenta Rider slashed from side to side, hitting all three worms and causing them to stagger back.

The monsters swept forward with their claws, forcing the spiky haired boy to jump back in order to evade the attack. The Worms continued their attack, shrugging off the slashes from the blonde's sword, and gaining more and more ground.

Naruto gritted his teeth, for he knew that at any moment his back would hit the trunk of a tree. The magenta Rider considered running away for moment, but the continuing presence of the Riotroopers just pass the Worms would prevent the boy from making a clean escaped. _"Damn it all!"_ Decade inwardly cursed.

As if on cue, the Uzumaki suddenly felt a tug from somewhere inside of his body.

Out of nowhere, a bright red slash hit all three worms from behind.

The young Rider from Konoha witnessed as a red blade slashed away at the monster two more times, returning the creatures to their card form.

All eyes in the field followed the red blade as it flew to edge of the clearing and settled back into a large blue handle.

Naruto's sapphire eyes widened as they fell on the figure holding the now reconstructed sword. The individual was mostly black with white highlights, a prominent, red chest, and with a pair of big, peach-shaped eyes on the helmet.

"I…!" The new comer pointed at himself. "Have arrived!" Kamen Rider Den-O announced.

* * *

**A/N – The answer is yes, I found a way to add the Taros to the story, and no they are not worms, by the end of this arc their nature will be revealed.**

**Also, I know Gaara comes off as very OOC at the beginning of this chapter. Well, there is a very convenient plot device that is to blame for why Gaara is not a psychopath, give it a couple of chapter and it'll be explained too. Just keep in mind that there's a reason for it.**

**For those of you who have an idea but want confirmation of Den-O's identity, it is hidden somewhere in the fist section of this chapter. I wonder who will find it.**

**As of now, I have can add Blade to the list of Kamen Rider series I've watched, the next on the list is Kabuto. I saw some things in Blade that I'm planning to use for this fic, but before I go off on a rant about the series' ending, I want to ask if anyone who saw that series know what "EH" stood for. For those of you that have not watched Blade, EH was the unit that appeared on the machine they used to measure a Kamen Rider's power output in the series.**

**Well, that's if for me, all I have left is what I promised you at the beginning of the chapter…**

* * *

_**Preview: Rider World Chapter 6 – Rescue Party**_

-The newcomer charges forward.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

-Naruto grips his sword tighter and plants his feet one the ground.

"What are you doing?"

"I won't let you have him!"

-One of the Riotroopers struggles to his feet.

"What… What the hell are you?"

-The red-bladed sword is stopped in mid-strike.

"Stop!"

"I do not want to hurt you… Brother."

-Naruto kneels down as he undoes his transformation.

"You… You're…!"

-An explosion goes off in the clearing.

"Mind if I end you?"

"_**Full Charge"**_


	6. Rescue Party

**A/N – Here we go with chapter of Rider World.**

**But before anything, Gallarian, you raised a very good question. So far I have only implied it, never stating it upright, but Naruto and the others 15 to 16 years old, basically post time-skip. Des Shinta, you came the closest to unravel the "mystery" concerning Den-O, good job.**

**Well, without anything to add, here is the next chapter…**

* * *

_**Rescue Party**_

Out of nowhere, a bright red slash hit all three Worms from behind.

The young Rider from Konoha witnessed as a red blade slashed away at the monsters two more times, returning the creatures to their card form.

All eyes in the field followed the red blade as it flew to the edge of the clearing and settled back into a large blue handle.

Naruto's sapphire eyes widened as they fell on the figure holding the now reconstructed sword. The individual was mostly black with white highlights, a prominent, red chest, and with a pair of big, peach-shaped eyes on the helmet.

"I…!" The new comer pointed at himself. "Have arrived!" Kamen Rider Den-O announced.

"Wha…?" Naruto fought the urge to scratch his head as he regarded the strange Rider that had appeared and proceeded to strike a pose. Looking back a his last two remaining opponents, the blond could not help but notice the defensive, and far more tense, stances that they have taken as they completely ignored the spiky haired boy and focused on the new comer.

Cautiously, the bronze Riders took out equally-colored shorts swords. "You…" One of them muttered.

The sword-wielding Rider leaned back, casually placing the weapon on his shoulder as he regarded the entire clearing and its inhabitants, all the time nodding as if he understood something that completely escaped Decade.

Suddenly, the red warrior shot forward. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" He shouted as he brandished his sword at the two Riotroopers.

The two kidnappers immediately moved to meet their new opponent.

Easily dodging the first bronze blade, Den-O swung his sword at the second Riotrooper with enough force to send the flying back, even though he had blocked the strike. Without losing any momentum, the red Rider turned around and blocked the retaliation attack from the Riotrooper he had sidestepped, kicking the man on his bronze-plated chest and sending him to the ground.

Naruto watched in amazement as the newcomer not only stood his ground, but completely dominated the two man-made Riders singlehandedly.

The new Rider dodged, blocked, and attacked the two Riotroopers with an ease that the blond could not honestly call skill. To the Uzumaki, it seemed more like instinct, as if this warrior sole purpose on this Rider infested world was to fight, and he was damn good at his job.

"Kamen Rider… Den-O…" The words subtly seeped into Decade's mind as he observed the fight.

Red and bronze blades clashed against each other. "You… You were the one that attacked our comrades…!" The Riotrooper accused as he tried to push his opponent's weapon back.

A short laugh escaped the newcomer. "Of course! I sent does bastards on a one way trip to hell!" Den-O proclaimed in a loud voice filled with confidence and mixed with mocking tone before he pushed the bronze blade to the side and slashed powerfully at the kidnapper, sending him flying away. The second Riotrooper tried to attack the sword-wielding Rider from behind, but received a powerful kick on his stomach for his trouble.

Stumbling back, the man just managed to stay on his feet. The bronze Rider glared at his enemy. "But… But how did you…?" He tried to ask while attempting to catch his breath.

Den-O relaxed his stance. "Learn this well…" He commanded. "From start to finish, I'm at the climax!" The Rider stated before savagely slashing at his opponent him with enough force to send his body flying into a tree all the way at the edge of the clearing. "I've been on this wave since last night hunting all of you bastards down to send you straight to hell!" He declared as he pointed at his enemy's fallen form.

Suddenly, several blasts hit Den-O on the back, only managing to push the Rider slightly forward.

Behind the red warrior, the other Riotrooper forced his body off the ground, his hand holding his weapon in its gun form as he aimed at his aggressor with a shaky grip. "What… What the hell are you?" He managed to ask.

The sword-wielding Rider glanced back at his battered opponent. "I'm the person that will kill every last one of you." He stated, his boisterous voice taking a serious and grave tone. "And I will make sure that no one else will ever hurt him again!" Den-O called out before taking a black, rectangular artifact and swiping it in front of his belt buckle.

"_**Full Charge"**_ The belt called out as the buckle flashed red.

Immediately, a streak of red energy shot from the warrior's buckle and into the bottom of his sword handle, causing the blade to glow and crackle with excess energy.

Turning around and crouching down, Kamen Rider Den-O regarded the Riotrooper in front of him with a predatory demeanor. "Now, have a taste of my Finishing Attack! Part Three!"

Before the Riotrooper could do anything to defend himself, the red Rider swung his sword forward.

In the middle of the motion, the red blade detached itself from its handle and flew at the bronze Rider, viciously slashing him across the chest.

Den-O spun his body around and preformed a thrusting motion with the grip of his weapon directed at the second Riotrooper that was just struggling back to his feet. Immediately, the wayward edge shot towards the other kidnapper, impaling him in the chest with terrible force. The red Rider then swung his sword handle over his head, directing the blade to rise upward above the clearing and then fall crashing down on the first Riotrooper.

Both bronze Riders disappeared in a deafening explosion.

Naruto watched as the flames and smoke started to dissipate, slowly revealing Den-O as the only one still standing as the red blade reattaching itself to his handle. Slowly, the magenta Rider made his wave towards the person that had saved him from the Worms. "Uhm… Uh… Thanks for…"

Before the blond could finish his awkward show of gratitude, the red warrior grabbed him by the shoulder.

The spiky haired teen had a second to give the mysterious Rider a confused look before Den-O delivered a powerful headbutt on his helmet with enough force to make Decade stumble back. "What are you doing?" The Uzumaki angrily asked.

The sword-wielding Rider immediately took up a defensive stance. "Like I said to those two, I won't let anyone lay their hands on him ever again!" He stated before slashing at the magenta Rider with his weapon.

Instinctively, Naruto jumped back to dodge the attack. Remembering what had happened to the Riotroopers, the blond made it his outmost priority to stay away from Den-O's red blade.

The sword wielding warrior continued to swing his blade, forcing the magenta Rider to sidestep, duck under, and jump back from his attack. Abruptly changing tactics, Den-O sent a quick kick at Decade's chest, stunning him for a second.

Taking the opening, the red Rider prepared to deliver the killing blow by swinging his sword in a powerful downward strike.

Fed up with his current situation, Naruto managed to recover from the kick and bring his own sword up just in time to stop the red blade in mid-strike.

The two Riders remained locked trying to push one another for several moments. "I won't let you have him!" Den-O shouted as he started to push the blond back. "I will protect him no matter what!" The red warrior exclaimed before delivering a more powerful kick onto the spiky haired teen's chest, sending the Uzumaki flying back.

The young man used the same momentum that flung him back to immediately get back to his feet. "I don't know what you are talking about!" Decade stated angrily. "But you already started to piss me off!" He added while switching the Ridebooker into its gun form and releasing a salvo of magenta-colored blast at opponent.

The initial barrage pushed the red Rider back, but by the time the second one was sent his way, Den-O was already rushing forward with his sword ready, shrugging the blast that continued to hit his body off.

Realizing that his shots were useless, Naruto immediately turned his weapon back to its sword mode and swung it forward, meeting his opponent's strike with one of his own.

Both fighters continued to trade blows, slashing, punching, and kicking at each other, while blocking and dodging. Finally, the two Riders managed to land a punch on the other's chest at the same, delivering enough force for both to be pushed several steps back.

"Well, I'm sick and tired of you too, you magenta-jerk!" Den-O proclaimed as he brought out the black rectangular artifact once more.

In response, Decade took out a card from the Ridebooker and inserted it into the Decadriver. _**"Attack Ride…"**_ The Rider System called out.

Meanwhile, the sword-wielding warrior swiped the black device in front of his belt again. "To take care of you all I need is my Finishing Attack, Part One!" He announced.

"_**Slash!"**_

"_**Full Charge"**_

The blades on the swords glowed magenta and red respectively.

Taking one more second to stare the other down, both Riders rushed towards each other and slashed forward with their weapons. A powerful wave of energy expanded throughout the clearing the moment the two blades collided.

"I… Won't lose… To you!" Den-O proclaimed.

"I will… Defeat you… Rider!" Decade shot back from his end.

The two evenly matched warriors were once again locked, trying to push each other's swords back as debris on the clearing were blown away by the massive concentration of energy right in-between them.

Being so focus on his battle with the red Rider, Naruto's mind barely registered the piercing sound that got stronger and stronger with each passing second.

Suddenly, a strange, boomerang-shaped, bladed weapon hit both of the Riders' swords. The accumulated energy stored between the two of them exploded, sending both Decade and Den-O flying across the clearing.

Pushing his body off the ground, Naruto glanced at his side towards the direction that the boomerang had come from.

At the edge of the clearing, among the dust raised by the explosion, was a new figure walking toward him and Den-O.

* * *

His gaze moved from the window towards the door a second before it was opened.

"Sir!" A black-clad young man called out the moment he steeped in the room

The man regarded his subordinate for a few second before returning his sight to the window. "What do you have to report?" He asked.

The newcomer straightened. "Sir, I regret to inform that we have lost all contact with the scout party, and the main party has stayed silent since last night." He dutifully informed.

Sighing, the man took his seat behind the room's desk. "And what about the test subject?"

Feet shuffled slightly before an answer was uttered. "Nothing has been confirmed about the test subject's status…" The black-clad man said. "As far as we can tell, he is still somewhere in the forest."

The sited man nodded. "Is there anything else?" Dark blue eyes pierced their owner's subordinate.

"Ye… Yes, there is…" The younger man muttered. "We… Uh… We have confirmed that the Leaf… Has gotten involve." He cautiously said. "And… We also believe that another unknown agent has also appeared in the forest… But we have yet to receive any confirmation on that…"

Silence ruled over the room for several minutes. The black-clad man shifted uncomfortable on his feet while he waited for instructions from his superior.

"Tell me about the braces…" The man behind the desk suddenly asked.

Jumping slightly at the question, the young man immediately reeled back his composure. "The… The researches say that they were working fine until last night but… They suddenly malfunctioned and…" He trailed off.

"And all of this chaos that threatens our entire operation occurred." The higher ranking man completed the thought.

Taken back slightly by his superior's word, the young man could only nod.

The man leaned back on his chair. "And…" He urged his subordinate to continue.

After pretending to clear his throat to compose himself, the black-clad man started again. "The researches do not really know what caused the malfunction, but they already have a set of reinforced braces ready to be used." He stated. "We are just waiting for your orders, sir."

The room was enveloped in silence once more until the man spun his chair to face out the window and finally spoke. "Get everyone ready… We are moving out." He announced.

"Si… Sir?" The younger man muttered confused.

"No matter what, we have to recover the test subject, other wise everything that we have worked on until now would go to waste." The ranking officer simply stated.

The black-clad man bit his lip. "And what about the Leaf?"

A short laugh was the initial response the young man got from his superior. "If anyone even dares to get in our way, we will just have to eliminate them." He proclaimed.

* * *

Through his green optic lenses, Naruto could see as the new figure stepped through the dust.

He was eerily similar to Den-O, except that the red and black colors were replaced by white and golden respectively, and the visors on his helmets resembled a pair of blue wings.

The new arrival walked serenely with both hands behinds his back and his eyes fixed on the red Rider. "You have caused us a lot of problems." He said in an authoritative, yet surprisingly gallant voice.

Den-O pushed himself off the ground as he glared at his white counterpart. "What the hell are you doing here, you damn bird?" He shouted.

"Looking for you, of course!" The golden Rider stated as he continued to walk nobly towards Den-O. "This has gone far enough; it is time for you to return."

The red warrior gritted the handle of his sword tighter. "Like hell it is! I am never going back! Not with you, not with anyone else!" He exclaimed before rushing and the white Rider with his sword ready.

The newcomer simply sidestepped the incoming swords slash and proceeded to evade Den-O's follow up strikes with notable ease. After continuously dodging attacks for several minutes, the golden warrior suddenly backhanded his red counterpart with enough force to drop him on his back.

"You bastard…" The sword-wielding Rider muttered as he got back on to his feet.

"Are you quite finished, yet?" The newcomer asked.

For a responds, Den-O simply lunged at the white Rider and reassumed his attempts to land a hit on him.

As he observed the fight between the two unusually similar Riders, Naruto felt a piercing pain shot through his head. _"He… He's Den-O too…"_ Somehow, Decade arrived at that conclusion as he clenched his head. "Kamen Rider Den-O… Wing Form…" The blond whispered.

The two Den-O Riders continued their battle. It soon became evident to the spiky haired teen that the newcomer was far stronger than one he now recognized as Sword Form. Not only had the golden warrior not been hit once yet, but he had landed all of his half-hearted, yet extremely effective, attacks.

Raising his blade above his head, the red Den-O brought it down on a powerful strike, but unfortunately for him, it was stopped by a small axe held in Wing Form's left hand. The sword-wielding warrior tried to push the hindering weapon down with all of his might, but to no avail. "Damn… You…"

Wing Form continued to hold his ground. "Please stop this already…" He requested. "I do not want to hurt you… Brother." The white Rider stated.

A growl escaped Sword Form. "But I don't care if I hurt you!" He exclaimed before suddenly stepping back and slashing forward with his weapon several times in quick succession, taking his white counterpart by surprise and landing not only his first strike, but his second, third, and fourth.

The golden warrior stumbled back several steps because of the attack. Out of reflex, Wing Form gripped his axe tighter and swung it forward.

The blade stopped a hair's distance from red warrior's neck as Wing Form regained his senses.

Taking the new opening, the sword-wielding Den-O delivered several slashes and kicks to the man that had called him _brother_, finally sending his white counterpart flying back and into the ground.

Wing Form watched helplessly from his downed position as the other Den-O rushed straight towards him to deliver a finishing blow.

"Stop!" Naruto commanded before shooting a salvo at Sword Form from the Ridebooker.

The blast stopped the red Den-O on his tracks, leaving him completely open for the magenta Rider to rush at him and land several swords strikes.

The blond put more and more strength behind each continuous attack, pushing his opponent further and further back. Decade finished his assault with a powerful kick on Den-O's chest, sending the red warrior flying out of the clearing.

Panting as the rush of adrenaline wore down, Naruto turned to the fallen Wing Form. "Are you alright?" The spiky haired teen asked as he cautiously walked closer to the white Rider, remember what had happened the last time he approached a Den-O variant.

Wing Form gradually got back onto his feet without answering the Uzumaki's question. Suddenly, the white Den-O lunged at the magenta Rider. "Look out!" He exclaimed before pushing Decade out of the way.

As he fell to the side, Naruto saw a large purple ball of energy hit Wing Form, who was standing right where the blond had been less than a second prior.

The energy ball exploded, propelling the golden warrior all the way to the farthest edge in the clearing.

Immediately standing up, Decade only had time to glance at the white Den-O's unconscious form before something hit him in the back. Turning around, the blond saw a new Rider step out into the clearing from the direction that the energy blast had come from.

Like the Den-O brothers, this newcomer seemed to be have been made from the same mold. His Rider armor had the same black portions as Sword Form, but his chest piece was silver with purple highlights, a part of the shoulder pads rose far above his actual shoulders, and the visors on his helmet formed a purple V with a pair of yellow lines that extruded from the bottom of it to both sides and resembled whiskers.

"Mind if I end you?" The new Rider asked in a cheerful voice as he quickly raised the blue and silver gun in his hand and shot at Decade before the spiky haired boy could do anything to protect himself. The gunslinger spun his body on his heel. "I can't hear you!" He stated before shooting at the magenta Rider once again.

The second salvo threw the Uzumaki on his back, but the young man immediately recovered. "Damn you… Who the hell are you?" He asked as the words _Gun Form_ appeared in his mind.

"Heheh…" The purple Rider laughed at the Rider in front of him until his visor moved to the still body of Wing Form. "What did you do?" He asked, the childish voice filled with sudden anger.

Naruto glanced at the downed Rider and then back at the one standing in before him. "I didn't do that!" The blond stated. "It was probably you." He said pointing at the new comer.

"Shut up, you liar!" The latest Den-O variant shouted before shooting at the magenta Rider again.

Having predicted his actions, the spiky haired teen jumped to the side to dodge the barrage. Switching his weapon into is gun mode, the Uzumaki retaliated with a salvo of his own.

The purple Den-O easily evaded the shots with moves that, if he did not know any better, the blond would say came straight out of some weird dance routine.

The two Riders exchanged shots with one another for a couple of minutes. After a while, Naruto came to the conclusion that while the firepower from this Den-O's gun far exceeded his Ridebooker's, the purple Rider did not seem too preoccupied with aiming. Instead, Gun Form simply discharged his weapon at the blonde's general direction.

"I'm getting tired of you!" The gunslinger announced as he brought out the same rectangular device that the spiky haired teen had seen Sword Form use. "I don't care about anything else you have to say…" He added as he swiped the artifact in front of his belt.

The buckle flashed purple. _**"Full Charge"**_ Two streaks of purple energy spurt out of it, each going to small domes at the end of Gun Form's shoulder pads.

Responding immediately, Naruto took out another card from the Ridebooker and inserted it into his Rider System. _**"Final Attack Ride… De-De-Decade!"**_The Decadriver called out, generating a row of holographic cards between the purple and magenta Riders.

"Goodbye…" Den-O Gun Form said while holding his weapon up with both hands.

"Screw you…" Decade retorted, aiming his own firearm forward.

Both Kamen Riders fired their guns at the same time. The energy stored in Den-O's shoulder immediately came forward and combined with the blast from the gun, forming an energy ball identical to the one before. Meanwhile, the shot from the Ridebooker started to travel down the Dimensional Road, getting bigger with each card in flew through.

The Wild Shot and the Dimensional Blast collided with each other in the middle of the clearing.

The ensuing explosion covered almost the entire clearing, raising a tower of fire that was soon replaced by a large cloud of smoke and dust.

Naruto's tried to search for his opponent, but by the time the cloud finally dissipated, it became obvious to the young man that Den-O Gun Form was already long gone from the surrounding area.

"Damn it… He got away." Decade muttered under his breath when something dawned on him. Turning around, the blond saw the still unmoving form of the white Den-O variant lying on the ground. "Hey, are you ok?" The magenta Riders asked as he walked towards the downed warrior. "Are you at least still alive?"

The spiky haired boy walked towards Wing Form, opening the Decadriver in the process and removing the card from it, undoing his transformation.

"Hey…" Naruto knelt down beside the golden Rider and shook his unresponsive body.

The sudden movement triggered the shut down of the Den-O variant's Rider System.

At the sight before them, the pair of sapphire eyes widened. "You… You're…!" The Decade Rider choked on his words. "You're a girl?" The Uzumaki exclaimed, unable to believe that the Rider that had so easily overpowered Sword Form was the young blond woman unconscious lying in front of him

The spiky haired boy barely had time to register the black-plated Sand headband the girl's forehead when he felt a sudden tug on the collard of his shirt. Before the young man knew what hit him, he was pulled up by his collard and flung back to the middle of the clearing.

"How dare you to improperly touch the Princess?" Naruto heard Wing Form's voice shout.

Looking up, the Decade Rider's eyes widened even further at the strange, white, bird-like, yet humanoid creature standing between him and the girl from Suna.

* * *

**A/N – In all honesty, this chapter gave me more trouble that I had expected, but at least I got it done.**

**KR Kabuto has been added to the list of "Seen" series, but, even though I enjoyed far more that Blade and loved the movie, I didn't get as much out of it that I can use for this crossover. Instead I got a plot for a completely new story… The lesson here is: be carful when you watch Kabuto while playing Persona 3. Also, I haven't decided which KR series I will watch next, I'm between 555 and starting OOO.**

**There are many Riders yet to be revealed, so take you best guests!**

* * *

_**Preview: Rider World Chapter 7 – Fractured Mask**_

-The white being stands proudly.

"Just what the hell are you?"

"My name is Sieg!"

-Naruto carries the girl from Suna through the forest.

"If you so much attempt to do something to the Princess..!

-Sword Form laughs as he brandishes his sword.

"I know who you really are."

"So you've been talking to that noisy woman."

-Sakura watches worriedly.

"But why do the do all of this?"

"Because I failed to protect him…"

-Decade and Den-O trade blows.

"You're not the only one who can change forms!"

"…_**Kuuga!"**_

-Sakura and the girl from Suna sit across from each other.

"He should have never existed…"

"But… They are the only ones that always stood by his side."


	7. Fractured Mask

**A/N – Well, this chapter was a lot more troublesome that I originally expected. Not only was it hard to start writing, granted the timing was not the best, but this chapter just did not want to end. There is one part that ended up being at least two times as long as I had originally believed it would. Actually this became the second longest chapter I've written, short by less than one-hundred words.**

**Anyways, thank you to those of you who reviewed, and specially Warwolf, thanks for your help. Kitsunelover94, I also played Climax Heroes OOO (hint-hint-nodge-nodge).**

**And now, here's the chapter eight…**

* * *

_**Fractured Mask**_

"Hey…" Naruto knelt down beside the golden Rider and shook his unresponsive body.

The sudden movement triggered the shut down of the Den-O variant's Rider System.

At the sight before them, the pair of sapphire eyes widened. "You… You're…!" The Decade Rider choked on his words. "You're a girl?" The Uzumaki exclaimed, unable to believe that the Rider that had so easily overpowered Sword Form was the young blond woman lying unconscious in front of him

The spiky haired boy barely had time to register the black-plated Sand headband the girl's forehead when he felt a sudden tug on the collard of his shirt. Before the young man knew what hit him, he was pulled up by his collard and flung back to the middle of the clearing.

"How dare you to improperly touch the Princess?" Naruto heard Wing Form's voice shout.

Looking up, the Decade Rider's eyes widened even further at the strange, white, bird-like, yet still humanoid, creature standing between him and the girl from Suna.

"Wha… Wha…?" The blond stammered in astonishment at the strange creature that was glaring at him.

The white being took a moment to kneel down beside the unconscious girl and looked her over before immediately standing back up. "Why I have never seen such mistreatment of the Princess! You should be hanged for committing such atrocity!" It indignantly declared.

Naruto could barely register the creature's words. "Are… Are you a Worm…?" The blond managed to ask through his shock. The young man's eyes momentarily drifted to the Decadriver, wondering if he had enough energy to transform again this soon, if needed.

The creature gasped and took a step back as if the Uzumaki had slapped it in the face. "How dare you compare me to such vile creatures?" It furiously asked. "My name is Sieg! And a commoner like you should do very well in remembering it!" It declared.

Gritting his teeth in exasperation as the shock finally started to subside, the Decade Rider finally returned to his feet. "Knowing your name doesn't tell me anything about you!" He shot back. "Just what the hell are you?" He demanded.

"As if I was require to answer questions from a lower life form such as yourself! My pride and status would not allow it!" The creature known as Sieg declared, turning away from the spiky haired teen.

A growl escaped Naruto. "Fine! Have it your way!" The blond exclaimed and turned around as well. "The best of luck to both you and your damn princess!" The young man added as he started to walk away.

The strange being was surprised by the young Rider's action. "Wa… Wait a second; you are not just going to leave the Princess like this, are you?" Sieg asked.

The spiky haired boy glared back at the white creature. "You threw me half way across a clearing simply for going to check up on her!" He exclaimed. "I don't want anything else to do with you people." Naruto added before continuing on his way.

"Please…! You have to help the Princess!" The bird-like creature called out, panic staring to invade his voice.

Naruto stopped on his track once more. "What happened to your _pride_ and _status_ from a couple of seconds ago?" He asked as his sapphire eyes regarded the white creature.

Surprising the blond, Sieg proceeded to bow his head down. "My pride… My status… They mean nothing when it comes to the Princess safety…" The strange being said, his voice managing to sound astonishingly humble. "Please, do not leave the Princess out here unprotected." He pleaded.

The Decade Rider let out an exasperated sigh of defeat. "Ok, ok, I'll help you." The young man announced. "But in exchange, you have to tell me everything." He added firmly.

"Everything…?" Sieg repeated.

"Yes, everything." Naruto confirmed. "You'll have to tell me exactly what you are." The spiky haired boy said, turning around to face the bird-like creature. "Who she is." He added as he pointed at the unconscious girl. "And who the hell those two other Riders were!" The Uzumaki finished as he started to walk back towards strange being and his _Princess_.

Sieg watched the blond approach the downed girl. "Very well, I accept." He said. "Just please take the Princess somewhere safe… We have a lot of enemies in these woods at the moment."

The spiky haired boy nodded as he knelt down in front of the young woman and picked her unconscious form up. "By the way, I'm Naruto." The Decade Rider said, addressing the white creature before he started back on his way out of the clearing.

"And, as I stated before, I am Temari-sama's Imagin, Seig." The strange being announced as he followed the young man.

The blond took a second to glare back. "Stop giving answers that raise more questions! Just what the hell is an Imagin?" The teenager demanded.

"Not right now." Sieg declared, all of his humility disappearing from his voice. "First we take care of the Princess and then you may ask me questions." He stated.

The spiky haired boy gritted his teeth at the responds he got from the _thing_ that had asked for his help.

"And if you so much as attempt to do something to the Princess…!" Sieg continued from behind the blond.

Naruto gritted his teeth more and more forcibly as he continued to walk.

* * *

Arriving back at the destroyed campsite, the Decade Rider was surprised to find none of his teammates there. "Huh… I guess I'm the first one back…." He commented looking over the clearing once more.

A sneering sound was heard from behind the young man. "This is it?" Sieg asked, scanning the remnants of the campsite himself. "The Princess will hardly be any safer here…" The Imagin commented.

Naruto sent one more frustrated glare at the white creature. "She'll be fine." He assured as he placed the unconscious girl gently on the ground. "My teammates and my Sensei will be here any moment now." The teen informed.

"I guess it will do…" Sieg finally said after letting out a sigh.

Ignoring the obnoxious being, Naruto's eyes focused on the sleeping young woman. "So, her name is Temari… Right?" The blond commented. "And you said you were her… What was it again? Her _Imagin_?"

The bird-like creature nodded. "That is correct." He confirmed. "I am an Imagin in the service of Temari-sama."

The Decade Rider turned around to face his companion. "And what exactly is an Imagin?" He questioned.

"That…!" Sieg started. "I do not know." The bird-like confessed.

"What?" The spiky haired teen exclaimed in bewilderment at the answer he received. "How can you not know what an Imagin is if you're one?"

The Imagin simply shrugged his shoulders. "That is what I have always been called." He informed. "All I know is that I was created to protect Temari-sama."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Created…?" He asked.

"That is correct."

Silent overtook the destroyed campsite. "So… Tell me about your _Temari-sama_ and those other Riders." The Uzumaki asked after a few minutes of silence, turning around to face Sieg. The young man's eyes widened at the sight that greeted him.

Right before him, Naruto witnessed as the Imagin's body suddenly deformed into sand and crumbled down to the floor.

"Sieg!" The Decade Rider exclaimed rushing towards the spot that the bird-like creature had disappeared from. "Wha…! What happened? Sieg!" The young man shouted, kneeling in front of the small mountain of sand left behind by the Imagin. "Sieg!" He screamed again.

"Must you be so loud?" Sieg voice suddenly boomed right before his head, arms, and torso sprouted from the sand, thoroughly shocking the blond.

It took a while for Naruto to get his thoughts in enough order to actually express them. "What the hell was that?" The Uzumaki shouted as he pointed at Sieg.

The sand representation of the Imgain gave the spiky haired teen a confused look. "I just reverted back to a simpler, less strenuous form." He explained casually.

"And what's that suppose to mean?" The young Rider exclaimed. "You can turn to sand just like that?"

Sieg gave off an exasperated sigh. "As an Imagin, I do not have an actual physical form, so I create one using what you humans call chakra." He informed. "But after fighting and the Princess losing consciousness, it seems I do not have enough energy to keep a full corporeal form any longer." The Imagin added.

Naruto growled in frustration at the explanation. "You could have warned me…" The blond commented. "It scared the hell out of me seeing someone… Or something… Just crumble away into sand."

A scoff escaped the Imagin. "I do not need the concern of a commoner like you." Sieg declared.

The spiky haired teen's glare found its way back to the strange, sand being. "Don't worry, I won't make that mistake again."

Silence settled between the two of them. Naruto took the opportunity to scan the clearing for any sign of his teammates' return and then spared a glance to the unconscious young woman lying by a tree, before returning to the Imagin.

"So tell me, what's the deal with those other Riders?" The Uzumaki asked as his eyes settled on Sieg. The teen was surprised when he found the strange creature fidgeting in his place. "What's wrong?"

The Imagin ignored the question for several seconds before finally giving his attention to the blond. "It seems that I have underestimated the level of my exhaustion… And even this incomplete form is taking too large a toll on me." He informed.

The Decade Rider narrowed his eyes at those words. "So, what does that mean…?" The young man asked warily.

"I will have to forsake any form of physical manifestation until the Princess finally regains consciousness." Sieg informed. "So, for now, I will be taking my leave. Just know that I will continue watching over the Princess so do not even consider trying to do anything to her." The Imagin added and, before the spiky haired boy could react, disappeared back into the small mountain of sand.

"Sieg!" Naruto shouted at the accumulation of sand that was left behind. "Damn it! This wasn't the deal! You've barely answered anything, you bastard!" The blond exclaimed, stomping forcibly on the sand, hoping that it would somehow hurt the bird-like creature.

Sighing in frustration after stomping repeatedly on the sand, the Uzumaki looked around the campsite once again, hoping to see his teammates approaching. "Great… Now what am I suppose to do…?" He whined after finding no sign of his teammates. "I guess it's just you an me…" The teen commented, glancing at the other blond in the clearing.

Somewhere in his mind, a part of the spiky haired teen's brain was laughing at the irony of having to look after a Rider of all things.

Walking towards the girl from Suna, Naruto knelt down beside her unconscious body. "Man… The Sand sure is giving me problems…" The young man commented, tapping the girl's black plated head protector. "I only touched her headband!" The Decade Rider called out to the clearing, incase a certain bird-like creature decided to fling him half way across the clearing yet again.

The spiky haired boy received no respond from his surroundings.

A short, dry laugh escaped the Uzumaki as he looked back down at the other blond. "Well… At least you're kind of cute." Naruto admitted in a low voice to make sure no one would hear him. "But please wake up soon so I can get some answers."

Suddenly, as if she had heard the spiky haired teen's words, the young woman started to stir.

"Hey!" The Decade Rider exclaimed. "You're waking up? Can you hear me?" He called out. "Hey, are you ok?"

The young man leaned further in, placing his hands on the girl's shoulder, and shaking her a bit in an effort to help her regain consciousness.

Caught up in the excitement of the mysterious girl finally waking up, Naruto failed to realize how his current position, hovering over her still unconscious body, might appear to newcomers.

"Naruto! What are you doing?"

The teenager immediately looked behind him at the source of the exclamation.

Sakura stood in the middle of the campsite, her eyes a mixture of surprised and anger as they looked at the pair of blondes, one unconscious on the floor, and the other looming over her defenseless form. "What are you doing to her?" She shouted.

The Uzumaki had been left startled by his teammate's sudden arrival and was unable to answer her question.

Taking the spiky haired boy's silence as a sign of guilt, the Haruno rushed at her teammate. "You pervert!" The pink haired girl screamed as she drove her fist into the Decade Rider's gut, before grabbing the young man by the collard and flinging him halfway across the clearing with monstrous strength.

The irony did not escape the breathless teenager as his body got reacquainted with the ground.

The Femme Rider looked over the still unconscious girl before turning back to her teammate. "What did you do to her?" She demanded to know.

"How… Are you so… Strong?" Naruto asked instead of answering the question while clenching his abused stomach.

The team leader growled at the spiky haired boy's downed form. "I swear, Naruto, if you assaulted her in any way…" Sakura stopped at midsentence when she suddenly heard groaning sounds coming from behind her. Looking back, the Haruno saw as the blond girl started to open her eyes. "Hey… Are you alright?" The pink haired teen asked in concern as she took a few steps forward.

"Princess!" Sieg suddenly exclaimed as his full physical form sprouted from the ground right next the waking young woman.

"Kyaaah! What is that?" Sakura screamed at the sight of the bird-like creature emerging out of the ground. The scare was so strong that the Femme Rider's body quickly started to back away, until she tripped with her teammate's still fallen form, knocking the air out of him again, and falling over herself.

Naruto groaned. "Damn it… You're heavy too…!" He cried out as he pushed his teammate's legs off him.

By the tree, the newly awake Temari shifted her eyes from the Imagin to the fallen pair and back. "Sieg, what… What is going on…?" She questioned while clenching her aching head.

"What the hell is that thing?" The pink haired girl frantically asked as she pointed at the strange, white creature.

The Decade Rider took a couple of second to recover his breath once more. Seeing as Sieg was already explaining the situation to his _Princess_, the young man directed his attention to his still hysteric teammate. "Well… It's kind of a long story." Naruto started.

"What is that?" Sakura interrupted.

A frustrated groan escaped the spiky haired teen, but he held his tongue, less he end up with the wind knock out of him yet again. "Calm down and I'll tell you." He requested before continuing. "After I went off in search of the kidnapped boy, I found some of the kidnappers' comrades, and we ended up fighting." The Uzumaki informed.

"Figures…" The Haruno commented at the last part of her teammate's words, earning a glare from the boy.

"Anyways, as I was saying…" The blond continued. "Right in the middle of me fighting off the kidnappers, the guy who destroyed this campsite, some sword-wielding Rider in a red armor called Den-O, showed up and took them out." He informed, making sure to leave out the part about him almost getting overwhelmed by the Worms. "But, for some reason he thought that I was an enemy, attacked me, and we started to fight." Naruto added.

"Figures…" Sakura interjected again.

The spiky haired teen glared at his teammate. "Are you going to let me tell you what happened?"

The pink hared teen glared back. "I want you to tell me what that thing is!" She exclaimed as she pointed at Sieg.

"I'm getting to that! I'm getting to that!" The Uzumaki informed. "When I was fighting that guy, she showed up and started fighting him." The teen pointed out, signaling at the other blond. "Well, more like she wanted him to come with her, and he had other ideas… Anyways, one thing left to another, and I ended up kicking the red Rider out of the clearing."

Sakura moved in to voice here desire of finding out what Sieg was once more.

Guessing the girl's intent, the Decade Rider quickly continued before he was interrupted. "Then this third Rider shows up and shoots at me, but she steps in and takes the blast in my stead… That's why she was unconscious." The young man emphasized the last part. "I chase away the new Rider and then go to check on her, that's when that bird-thing showed up and threw me across the clearing because he thought I was going to something to the girl… Yeah, yeah, I know… _Figures…_" The blond predicted and beat his teammate to the punch.

The Femme Rider was a little startled at being cut off twice, but quickly recovered. "You still haven't told me what that thing is."

The Uzumaki shrugged his shoulder. "I needed to clear my name first…" He confessed, earning a small glare. "But he said is an _Imagin_, something created to serve and protect that girl. He asked me to help look after her, so I brought them here." The spiky haired boy informed.

Sakura was going to voice her opinion to what her teammate had just revealed to her, but was stopped by the blond girl and her _Imagin_ approaching them. The two Leaf Riders immediately gave them their attention.

"Naruto-san, thank you for helping us." The young woman said, giving a small bow. "My name is Temari, and I am in your debt." She added.

The Haruno was the first one back to her feet. "Don't worry about it; you don't have to thank this idiot." She said, receiving a voice of protest from the boy in question. "My name is Haruno Sakura, and is our duty as Riders to help those in need." The pink haired girl added, giving her teammate a small glare.

"Do not think so lightly of the Princess' words of gratitude." Sieg immediately interjected. "You should be honored to even hear them…"

The Imagin's rant was cut off when Temari placed a hand on his arm. The blond girl smiled at the pair. "Nevertheless, thank you."

Finally getting back up, Naruto regarded the Den-O Rider. "Whatever… Are you guys finally going to tell me who those Riders were, why did they attack me, and who's the person the red one kept referring to, was he the boy that got kidnapped?" The spiky haired teen questioned.

Temari seemed visibly uncomfortable by her fellow blonde's inquiries. "I… I am not allowed to answer that…" She confused.

"Bullshit!" The Decade Rider exclaimed. "That thing promised me answers if I help you!" The Uzumaki shouted as he pointed at Sieg, who took an offended stance at being called a _thing_.

Despite the young man's outburst, Temari remained silent, her gaze directed at anything but the Leaf Riders.

Growling, Naruto turned away from the blond girl. "That's fine, I'm just going to find those Riders and beat the answers out of them!" He declared before he started to storm off.

"Naruto!" Sakura called out after her teammate.

Sieg turned towards Temari. "I would ask you to reconsider, Princess…" The Imagin said, earning a curious look from the girl. "You must consider what could happen if Naruto-san does find him, they fight, and the fight gets out of hand, like it almost did back there." He pointed out. "And… Somehow… I have come to the belief that these people can help us." Seig admitted.

Temari gave her Imagin as pensive look before her gaze slowly moved towards the pink haired girl struggling to prevent the spiky haired boy from leaving. "Ok… I will answer your question!" She finally called out.

The Decade Rider immediately stopped trying to break free from his teammate and gazed at the pair from Suna. Walking towards them, the young man looked his fellow blond in the eye. "Well… Who were the other Den-O?" He asked.

Struggling to find where to start, Temari took a couple of seconds to answer the Leaf Rider. "You were right… The person that Sword Form kept referring to was the boy that my village asked you to find… My younger brother, Gaara." She informed.

Naruto scoffed. "So this guy saved you little brother from the kidnappers, then why did you two fought?" The spiky haired boy inquired.

"It wasn't exactly like that…" Temari commented. "Gaara is Den-O."

A bewildered look took residence on the Uzumaki's face. "What? He was referring to himself?" The teenager asked confused.

Before Temari could answer the other blonde's question, Sieg stepped forward. "Imagin can posses the person we are bounded with and bestow our power to their Rider form." The creature explained.

"As if you were part of the Rider System?" Sakura wondered.

"Precisely." The Imagin confirmed. "Who you fought, Naruto-san, was Gaara-sama under the control of an Imagin bound to him, Momotaros."

The spiky haired teen nodded in understanding. "So that's why I heard you speak while she was fighting… You possessed her…" He realized. Suddenly, pair of sapphire eyes narrowed. "Then this Imagin is forcing him to do all of this? I thought you said Imagin were supposed to serve and protect those they are bounded to." Naruto pointed out.

Sieg struggled a bit to formulate an answer. "We are…" The bird-like creature started. "And he is…" He added.

"What do you mean?" The Uzumaki questioned.

A sight escaped the white Imagin. "Momotaros truly believes that his actions are on Gaara-sama's best interest and that he is protecting him." He informed.

"But… But why do all of this?" The Femme Rider voiced her confusion. "Why attack Naruto and his host's own sister?" She asked.

"It's my fault." Temari stated before Sieg could answer. "Because I failed to protect him… Because my own brother suffered and I did not do anything about it, Momotaros used the kidnapping as an opportunity and took matter into his own hands."

Silence over took the campsite.

Naruto finally broke the veil of silence after a while. "And what about the purple Den-O? Is he controlled by an Imagin too?"

Temari answered the question with a small, and unusually thoughtful, nod. "He… He's sort of a wild card… But for now, it seems he's siding with Momotaros." The blond girl commented. "But, even if they want to help Gaara, this is the wrong way of doing it… Right now, the group that kidnapped him in the first place is still after him." She stated. "That's why I have to find my brother no matter what and bring him back to the village with me." The Den-O Rider declared before ordering her body to move. Unfortunately, the legs gave up on her instead.

"Princess! You are in no shape to go after them!" Sieg exclaimed after catching the young woman.

"But I have to!" Temari shot back, trying to break free from the Imagin's hold.

"I cannot allow that!"

"Sieg!"

"Damn it! Just listen to the damn bird!" Naruto finally called out, stopping their argument. "The way you are, you wouldn't even make it ten steps out of the campsite."

Temari glared at the other blond. "You don't understand… This is my little brother that we are talking about! I just can't leave him out there in a forest full of enemies!" She shouted.

The Uzumaki gritted his teeth as he returned the glare. "Then, I will go look for them!" He declared, shocking everyone present.

"But… But why…?"

Naruto's eyes looked away. "I'm not going to fail my first mission…" The young man announced. "As far as I'm concern, Gaara is my mission, so I have to protect him as well." The Decade Rider said with a serious tone. "Also, that Imagin pissed the hell out of me, so I'm not about to let him do whatever he wants!" He quickly added.

"You can't, Naruto!" Sakura interjected. "You said you've been fighting the whole day, it would be both dangerous and stupid to go after him!"

The young man shrugged his team leader's words off. "He said he's being fighting since last night, if anything he would be more tired than me." The blond shot back.

"But you don't even know how to find him! This forest is way too large!" The Haruno pointed out.

"If I may interject…" Sieg answered in the spiky haired boy's stead. "If I could shorten the distance between Gaara and myself, even by just a bit, I would be able to track him." The Imagin informed. The two Leaf Riders gave the white creature a pair of confused looks. "It is an ability that us Imagin have." He clarified.

The Uzumaki accepted the explanation. "Then it's settled, the bird and I will look for Gaara and you stay here with Temari." The blond announced, ignoring the protest from the girls and Sieg's complaints from being called _the bird _again, and immediately dashed out of the campsite.

Sieg turned to Sakura. "Please take care of the Princess." He requested before giving a small bow to the two young women and following the spiky haired teen out of the clearing.

A sigh escaped the Femme Rider as she heard her teammate's complaints to the Imagin about hurrying up. Eventually, their bicker subsided and then disappeared. "Off they go…" She muttered as turned to look at the blond girl. Now it was more evident how exhausted the girl from Suna truly was. "You know… Naruto maybe an annoying and hotheaded guy, but he is pretty strong and quite determined. I'm sure he'll be able to help your brother." The pink haired girl said, trying to be supportive.

Temari smiled at the younger girl in gratitude as she walked back to the tree and sat beneath it.

Sakura followed suit. "This whole thing with the Imagin… It must be pretty tedious." She commented, looking at the blond girl, worried about how tired she seemed.

A short laugh escaped the Den-O Rider. "Yes, they can be a handful… For example, not matter how many times I tell him, Sieg won't stop calling me _Princess_." She informed. "And Momotaros is even more of a character… Sort of the rebel of the group…" As she spoke, Temari's words became quieter. "Yet, after everything that has happened, I could never hate or blame them for all of this."

The Haruno gave the older girl a confused look. "What do you mean?" She asked.

The blonde's gaze seemed to settle somewhere in the distance. "Yes, they can be annoying and tedious… But… They were the only ones who always stood by his side…" The Den-O Rider informed.

"His side? You mean Gaara's?"

Temari's eyes dropped to the ground as she nodded. "Back when he was younger, everyone turned their back on Gaara, even his family." She said, her voice filled with regret and guilt. "For a long time, all that Gaara had for company were the Imagin."

At the revelation, Sakura's gaze dropped as well. "I… I'm sorry…" The pink haired teen awkwardly said.

"Sometimes…" The blond girl started again. "I wish he would have never existed." She said, earning another confused look from the younger girl. "Den-O… I hate Kamen Rider Den-O…" Temari confessed.

* * *

Naruto continued to jump from branch to branch. "Are you sure they're this way?" He asked.

"I am certain that they are just up ahead." Sieg's voice answered right next to the blond.

The Uzumaki cringed a little. He was still not used to talk to something that wasn't technically there.

Right after they have left the campsite, the Imagin had voiced his unwillingness to follow the Decade Rider around the forest in his physical form. So he shed his sand body, turned into a small ball of light and flew next to the spiky haired boy instead.

"You said that almost thirty minutes ago and we still have not found them!" Naruto complained. "I think the whole _I can sense them_ thing was bullshit…" The young man commented.

"How dare you call me a liar?" The Imagin exclaimed. "I would let you know that I… Stop!" Sieg suddenly shouted, causing the teenager to hurriedly stop on top of a branch. "They're right over there." The sphere of light informed.

Whichever direction Sieg was actually pointing at, Naruto would never be sure, but he could hear a familiar voice complaining, rather loudly, up ahead.

Moving a little closer, the Uzumaki's gaze fell on a clearing and its sole resident. It was a young man, around the blonde's age, with red hair spiked up and slightly pushed back, a single strand of hair stood up from the other in a darker shade of red, the same color that adorned his angry eyes. Naruto also took note of the word _love_ engraved on the guy's forehead.

"Damn it! I don't have the slightest clue where the hell I am right now!" The redhead complained before punching a tree with such strength that it shook precariously.

"That form is the evidence that Gaara-sama is being possessed by Momotaros." Sieg informed the blond.

Not waiting any longer, Naruto jumped onto the clearing. "Hey, idiot!" The Decade Rider called out, announcing his presences.

The possessed teen turned immediately at the arrival of the newcomer. "Who the hell are you?" He called out.

The blond glared straight into the teen's red eyes. "I'm the guy you attacked earlier. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm here to return the favor…" The Uzumaki informed. "Momotaros…"

The Den-O Rider was clearly taken back by the fact that the person before him knew his name.

"Yeah… I know who you really are and what you are trying to do here." The spiky haired boy announced. "But I will be taking Gaara with me and return him to his village." He stated.

A short laugh escaped the spiky haired Imagin. "So you've been talking to that nosey woman and…" The possessed teen took a long and loud sniff of the air. "Sieg, you damn bastard! I can smell you!" Momotaros declared.

The bird-like Imagin sprouted from the torso up right next the blond. "You have done enough, Momotaros, it is time for Gaara-sama to go back to Princess and return to Suna."

The redhead glared at his fellow Imagin. "You'll have to drag me kicking and screaming back to that bitch." Momotaros declared.

"That can be arranged…" Naruto informed with a smirk as he placed the Decadriver in front of his waist. Immediately, the Rider System coiled itself around him.

"Heh…" The possessed teen laughed with a smirk of his own as a belt appeared around his waist with a flash of light. "That is fine by me… From the moment I first saw you, you've pissed me off." The redhead stated as he took out a familiar, black, rectangular object.

The Uzumaki took out a card from the Ridebooker. "I know that fighting you could hurt Gaara, so I'm going to try not to enjoy beating the daylights out of you too much." He announced.

"Henshin!" Both spiky haired boys called out at the same time before the blond inserted his card into his belt and the redhead pressed the red button on his.

"_**Kamen Rider…"**_ The Decadriver called out.

The two young men took one more chance to glare at each other before finishing their transformations. Naruto closed the Decadriver while Momotaros swiped the Rider Pass in front of the Terminal Buckle.

"_**Decade!"**_

"_**Sword Form"**_

Several grey images appeared around the Uzumaki before converging on him and taking a magenta color. In the meantime, Gaara's body was covered by thousands of black particles that formed a plain black and silver armor, and several red pieces then appeared around him and set on his chest and shoulders, while red optic lenses descend on the head piece.

"I…" Kamen Rider Den-O pointed at himself. "Have arrived!" He exclaimed as he crouched down and spread his arms.

Kamen Rider Decade gave his opponent a confused look. "Have arrived?" He questioned. "You've been here this whole time, you idiot!"

Momotaros straightened up. "Hey, don't comment on other people matters!" The Imagin shouted angrily. "Who asked you anyways…?" He added as he took the devices that had appeared attached to his belt and pieced them together. When he was done, a red blade came out from one end of it.

Naruto detached the Ridebooker from his belt and switched to its sword mode.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" The red Rider exclaimed before charging at his opponent.

Ridebooker and DenGasher clashed against one another other with enough power to send sparks flying in every direction.

The two Riders moved throughout the clearing dodging, blocking, and swinging their weapons at each other.

"This time there won't be anyone coming to save you!" Den-O stated as he pushed Decade's sword away with his on and kicked him dead center in the chest.

The magenta Rider was pushed back and lost any form of guard, leaving his body defenseless against the flurry of slashes that his opponent sent his way. The attacked culminated with a powerful upward strike that threw the blond back and onto the ground.

Snickering, the sword-wielding Imagin watched his opponent trying to push his body off the ground. "In case you miss it last time… From start to finish, I'm at the climax!" He declared before slashing down at the magenta Rider.

The spiky haired boy managed to bring the Ridebooker up and block the descending attack. Unfortunately, that action left the rest of his body wide open for Den-O to kick away.

The punt was so strong that the Uzumaki's back ended up hitting a tree all the way at the edge of the clearing.

"See…" Momotaros started. "You can't beat me." The red Rider declared.

Panting slightly, Naruto forced his body back to his feet. "It seems I might need a little help after all…" He commented, earning a confused look from his opponent. The young man from Konoha opened the Ridebooker and took out another card. "Henshin!" The Uzumaki repeated before inserting the card into the Decadriver.

"_**Kamen Rider… Kuuga!"**_ The Rider System call out and, in a flash of light, Decade's magenta armor was replaced by a perfect replica of Iruka's red and black Rider armor of Kuuga Mighty Form.

Momotaros took a couple of steps back in surprise. "What the hell did you just do?"

Naruto cracked his knuckles. "I think this is a better fit against you." The pseudo Kuuga declared. The next second, the blond rushed at the other red Rider.

Snapping out of his stupor, Den-O slashed at his opponent.

Unfortunately for the Imagin, D-Kuuga ducked under the path of his sword. Taking the opening, the Uzumaki drove his fist into the redhead's gut, pushing him back.

The sword wielding warrior stumbled a couple of steps back but refused to fall down. Recovering from the punch, Momotars tried to attack his opponent with his sword again.

Naruto saw the attack coming and sidestepped it. Immediately, the spiky haired boy swung his fist at the possessed Rider, hitting him right on the side of his head, and followed up with a powerful kick to his chest that pushed Den-O a couple of steps back.

Not letting up, D-Kuuga rushed at the other red Rider again and delivered a second, far more devastating.

Momotaros was flung back by the force of the kick, hitting the ground several feet away from the blond.

"Bastard…" The redhead muttered as he straightened back up. "I'll teach you not to mess with the Great Momotaros…" He announced as he took out the Rider Pass. "With my Finishing Attack… Part Two!" The Imagin exclaimed before swiping the device in front of his belt again.

"_**Full Charge"**_ The Terminal Buckle called out as it started to transfer energy to the DenGasher, causing its red blade to crackle with energy.

The blond opened the Ridebooker. "So you want to bring this battle to an end…" The spiky haired teen said as he took out a golden card and inserted it into his Rider System.

"_**Final Attack Ride… Ku-Ku-Kuuga!"**_ The Decadriver called out. Immediately, energy started to gather on the pseudo Kuuga's right foot.

As Den-O reeled his arm back to release his attack, D-Kuuga dashed towards his opponent, the energy in his leg increasing with each step he took.

After a couple of steps, Naruto jumped into the air and kicked forwards just as Momotaros swung his sword and the blade shot straight at the blond.

The Mighty Kick and Extreme Slash clashed in midair.

"I will not lose!" The Uzumaki exclaimed as the energy in his leg surged, knocking the red blade away, and allowing the kick to continue down towards its target, hitting the possessed Rider right on the chest.

Den-O felt like an explosion went off on his chest as he was thrown back, his back violently hitting a tree before his body finally felt onto the ground.

Panting, Naruto regarded his downed opponent with no small amount of pride. "Have you had enough yet?" He taunted. "Or do I really need to drag you back kicking and screaming?"

The sword-wielding Rider struggled get back to his feet. "Da… Damn you…" He muttered forcibly.

A laugh escaped the spiky haired boy at the sight of his opponent, but right when he was about to continue belittling him, the Uzumaki was cut off.

"**I think that's quite enough, Senpai."**

D-Kuuga was taken back when a completely different voice was heard coming from inside Den-O's helmet.

"You stay out of this!" Momotaros angrily called out.

"**I'm sorry Senpai, you already had your chance and Uzumaki-san completely bested you.**" The voice responded.

Before the Imagin could say anything back, Den-O was engulfed by a blue flash of light and his demeanor completely changed, becoming more confident and somehow more sophisticate.

Naruto's eye narrowed. "What's going on?" He asked.

"Oh nothing…" Den-O answered with the strange voice. "It's just that, you are not the only one who can change form!" The new voice stated before pressing the blue button the Terminal Buckle and swiping the Rider Pass in front of it.

"_**Rod Form"**_ The Rider System called out as the red pieces of Den-O's armor detached from his body, turned blue as they spun in midair, and reattached themselves, forming a much broader armor.

Once the transformation was finished, the blue Rider stretched his body. "Aah… That's much better." He commented before he started to take apart the DenGasher.

D-Kuuga shifted his eyes towards Sieg's sandy form at the edge of the clearing. "What the hell is this?" The young man demanded to know.

The bird-like Imagin seemed hesitant to answer. "Well… Gaara-sama does not only have Momotaros… He has four Imagin bound to him." He revealed. "This is the third one you meet."

Something immediately clicked in the spiky haired teen's head. "You men the purple one is in there too? And there's a whole other one that I know nothing about?"

Sieg nodded. "Correct."

Naruto was prevented from screaming at the bird when the blue Rider called his attention. "The battle for Gaara's fate is far from over, Uzumaki-san… My name is Urataros." He said, fining reassembling the DenGasher which suddenly extended into a staff. "And for now… Would you mind if I string you along?" Kamen Rider Den-O Rod Form politely asked.

* * *

**A/N – As I stated at the beginning, this chapter was quite a handful. This surprised me, since there wasn't much fighting and normally it's the action-packed chapters that give me trouble…**

**Oh well… In the meantime, I did catch up with OOO and watched 555. I ended up with a 555/Code Geass xover idea and an urge to introduce Kaixa and Delta into this fic. Have something for Kaixa but I'm drawing blanks on Delta… I'm sure there is a joke somewhere in that statement…**

**Anyways, thank you for reading.**

* * *

_**Preview: Rider World Chapter 8 – Different Existences**_

-A shadowy figure looks out of a window.

"And what of the other one?"

-An explosion goes off in the clearing.

"Damn you…"

"Naruto-san… I am sorry."

-Sakura and Temari look at each other.

"He has never lost"

"He cannot lose"

-D-Kuuga is thrown back.

"Our conviction is stronger than yours."

"I am stronger than you!"

-Kakashi looks down.

"I want to know the true.

-A hand reaches up for the Decadriver.

"What… What's happening…?"

-Decade lift the Ridebooker in gun mode.

"Are you the same Rider?"

"Who knows…?"


	8. Different Existences

**A/N – Hmm… For how long it took me to get this chapter out, it was easier to write than I expect it. Maybe I'm getting better…**

**Actually, the real reason why it took so long was because I had a ton of stuff to do during the last two months, so I had no time to sit down and write. I also had to decide whether I should write this chapter or go back my other fic that I've been neglecting for quite a while, but there was something that I really wanted to get to on this chapter, so this one won out. Anyways, here's the next chapter of Rider World…**

* * *

_**Different Existences**_

"_**Rod Form"**_ The Rider System called out as the red pieces of Den-O's armor detached from his body, turned blue as they spun in midair, and reattached themselves, forming a much broader armor.

Once the transformation was finished, the blue Rider stretched his body. "Aah… That's much better." He commented before he started to take apart the DenGasher.

D-Kuuga shifted his eyes towards Sieg's sandy form at the edge of the clearing. "What the hell is this?" The young man demanded to know.

The bird-like Imagin seemed hesitant to answer. "Well… Gaara-sama does not only have Momotaros… He has four Imagin bound to him." He revealed. "This is the third one you meet."

Something immediately clicked in the spiky haired teen's head. "You mean the purple one is in there too? And there's a whole other one that I know nothing about?"

Sieg nodded. "Correct."

Naruto was prevented from screaming at the bird when the blue Rider called his attention. "The battle for Gaara's fate is far from over, Uzumaki-san… My name is Urataros." He said, fining reassembling the DenGasher which suddenly extended into a staff. "And for now… Would you mind if I string you along?" Kamen Rider Den-O Rod Form politely asked.

The fake Kuuga scratched the back of his head in confusing. "Yes… I would mind." The blond answered. "Why would I want to be strung along by you?"

A frustrated sigh escaped the blue Rider. "Must you take our introductions so literally?" Urataros asked.

Snorting in retort, D-Kuuga crouch his body down. "Whatever…" He muttered before charging forward.

"So tactless…" Den-O commented. The Imagin swung his staff forward, surprising the attacking blond when the end of the weapon shot forward on a tether, almost like a fishing rod, and tied itself around D-Kuuga's ankle. Immediately, the blue Rider pulled on his staff, dragging Naruto's leg with it and causing him to fall. "You should not attack your opponent so wildly… I mean seriously, you're too much like Senpai…" Urataros commented before using the staff to fling the blonde's body to the side.

The Uzumaki cringed in pain as his back hit the bark of a tree and his body fell back to the ground. "Damn you…" He glared at the Den-O variant. Before his opponent could throw him around yet again, the teen quickly untangled himself from the cable and stood up. The spiky haired teen roared as he charged for his enemy again.

Shaking his head, Urataros let out a sigh. "Why doesn't anyone listen to me?" He questioned before swinging down his staff just as the red Rider approached, hitting him and causing him to stumble back. The Imagin kept the young man at bay with his weapon, delivering quick and precise hits despite the staff large size as he predicted every single one of the teen's move. "I guess there are some people who just have to learn the hard way." The blue Rider said before suddenly kicking his opponent with enough force to send him flying back.

Despite how much his body hurt, Naruto pushed his body off the ground right away. "So… Head on attacks do not work with you…" The blond said as he tried to catch his breath. "Then I'll just have to adapt to that." He declared. D-Kuuga's hand traveled towards the Ridebooker strapped to the side of his waist and took out a card.

"_**Form Ride…"**_ The Decadriver called out once the Uzumaki inserted the card. _**"Kuuga Dragon!"**_ In a flash of light, all the red parts in the in the blonde's Rider armor turned blue.

The fake Kuuga Dragon Form bent down and picked up a large branch that had broken from a tree during the fight. The piece of wood glowed gold for a second before it was transformed into a large blue staff.

Den-O regarded his opponent's new look. "Well, now you're just copying me." He commented.

"Don't flatter yourself." Naruto retorted before dashing forward.

Urataros placed a hand on his hip. "You just don't learn do you? Even after that whole makeover." The Imagin said; swiping his fishing rod forward again and letting the tether fly towards his attacker.

In a surprising show of prowess, D-Kuuga jumped over the incoming cable and over the Den-O variant, landing right behind the surprised Urataros. Naruto took the chance and quickly turned around, striking at his opponent with his blue staff.

The Imagin was just barely able to spin around and bring the DenGasher up to block the attack. The blue Rider then jumped back to create some distance between himself and the spiky haired teen. Den-O tried swinging his weapon and shooting the cable at his opponent once more.

Swiftly, the Uzumaki brought his own staff up, letting the cable wrap around one of its ends instead of any of teen's limps. Immediately, the blond pulled Urataros towards him, driving the other end of the staff into his opponent's gut, and using the other blue Rider's own momentum to pole-vaulting him over his head.

The Den-O variant pushed his body off the ground as he tried to shake off his surprise. "Well… I can see you're catching up, Uzumaki-san…" He commented while he composed himself and returned to his laid back demeanor. "So tell me, why are you so inclined on taking Gaara with you?" Urataros started again. "Did Temari-san promise something in exchange for helping her?" The Imagin questioned with a teasing tone.

"How dare you?" Sieg exclaimed from the sidelines.

Naruto simply snorted in responds. "I made a promise to bring Gaara back with me and I never break a promise!" The young man firmly stated. "But now I have another reason… To teach you, Imagin, a lesson!" He shouted before dashing forward.

The two blue Riders traded blows with their weapons, dexterously dodging and blocking one another. Finding an opening, D-Kuuga drove the end of his staff into Den-O's gut once again, but instead of throwing the Imagin over his head, the spiky haired teen started to push his opponent back with all his strength, until the Den-O variant's back violently hit a tree. Immediately, the Uzumaki followed up by landing several quick strikes, putting enough strength on the last one to send the Imagin flying to the side.

"Ok… Ok… That wasn't half bad…" Urataros admitted as he struggled to get back on his feet, using the DenGasher for support. "But still, I have a few things hidden under my sleeves that I haven't tried…"

Suddenly, Den-O Rod Form's entire body shook. **"Cried?"** A new, deeper voice was heard coming from the blue Rider.

"No! Don't wake up right now!" Urataros alarmingly exclaimed as he looked down at his own body.

A yellow flash engulfed Den-O body before he straightened up his stance. "You'll cry!" The same deep voice declared as the strange Rider brought a fist up to his chin and used to crack his neck.

Den-O pressed the yellow button on his Rider System, immediately the Terminal Buckle let out a chime as the Rider Pass was swiped in front of it. _**"Axe Form"**_ The belt called out before Den-O's armor detached, spun in the air, and reassembled itself back onto the Aura Skin, again. This time the Rider armor was black and yellow, smaller than the others, but with a bulkier appearance, and the yellow visor had a blade running right through the middle.

"My strength has made you cry!" The new Den-O variant stated as he changed the DenGasher to resemble an axe.

* * *

Sakura paced back and forth through the clearing. Every some often, the pink haired girl's gaze would move towards the blond still seating quietly beneath a tree. Sighing in frustration, the Femme Rider finally sat back down. "I'm sure that Naruto and Sieg have found your brother by now and are already on their way back." She said, partly to cheer the older girl up, but also because she could not stand the silence in the campsite anymore.

Temari simply looked up and gave the other girl a half-hearted smile.

"I'm serious!" Sakura said with a bit more strength. "Naruto might be a little annoying a more than a bit reckless, but he has more determination that the entire Leaf village put together." She informed. Seeing that she had caught her companion's attention, the pink haired girl continued. "Before he got his Rider System, Naruto would constantly pick fights against Riders as a way to prove himself, or something. No matter how many times he got beaten, Naruto never doubted his abilities and kept on trying, by the time he actually became a Kamen Rider, he had enough strength to back up that boisterous attitude of his." The Femme Rider said, remembering the many times the spiky haired boy had stood defiantly against the members of Class B.

The girl from Suna looked down at the ground. "The way you're making it sound, Naruto-san has not been a Rider for long…" She commented.

"Well, no…" Sakura admitted.

"Then he might be in over his head." Temari said solemnly. "Because Gaara and the Imagin have been Kamen Rider Den-O for almost ten years now…" The young woman revealed.

The Femme Rider's eyes widened. "Ten years? But you said he was your little brother… That must mean…"

The blond girl nodded at her companion's realization. "Gaara must have been around five years old when he acquired the Terminal Buckle and became Den-O." She informed. "Soon after that, the first Imagin, Momotaros, appeared." A short, humorless laugh escaped the young woman. "Right now, Gaara is considered one of the strongest Kamen Riders in Suna… As long as Den-O has the Imagin by his side, he cannot lose." She went silent after that.

Sakura also remained quite as her emerald eyes looked over the clearing and the destruction caused by Temari's brother, but eventually, her gaze returned to the older girl. "It's mostly because Naruto has only been Decade for a short while, but as a Rider he has never lost." The Haruno stated. "On the very first day that he transformed, Naruto, with that unyielding determination of his, made the promise to become strong enough to defeat any Rider… So, please don't count him out so easily."

Silence overtook the campsite once more as the girls' thoughts drifted back to the young men that were somewhere in the forest.

* * *

Den-O Axe Form took out a small napkin an extended towards D-Kuuga. "Clean your tears with this."

"What the hell?" Naruto exclaimed. "What? Cry? What tears are you talking about?" He complained before turning to look at Sieg. "What is this? Another Imagin?"

The bird-like creature nodded. "Precisely… This is Kintaros, the last of Den-O's Imagin for you to meet." He informed.

"What's with all the weird things they say when they transform then? Is that an Imagin thing?" The blue Rider questioned.

Sieg simply nodded once more. "Yes, it is, so if you could just please bear with it." He said, receiving a growl from the spiky haired teen.

Kintaros cleared his throat, gaining back the blonde's attention. "I've drifted in an out during your fight with Momonoji and Kamenoji, but I am well aware of your intentions." The Den-O variant stated. "And while I do believe you want to help Gaara, I will not let you take him back to Suna." He firmly stated.

Naruto scoffed as the crouched his body. "I expected you wouldn't…" The teen said before dashing forward. D-Kuuga suddenly jumped, performed a front flip in the air, and used the momentum of his prowess to bring down the blue staff onto Kintaros.

The staff hit the yellow Rider in the shoulder with enough force to sent sparks flying out, yet, to the blonde's shock and horror, the Den-O variant did not even flinched. "Is that all?" The Imagin asked. Before the Uzumaki could answer, Kintaros swung his axe, almost knocking the staff out of the blue Rider's hands, and proceeded to thrust his palm forwards, hitting his opponent with extraordinary force that sent him flying across the clearing.

Naruto fell back down to the ground with the wind knocked out of him. "Wha… What was that…?" He struggled to say.

"Oh… Well, Kintaros's main attribute is physical strength…" Sieg informed. "I am sorry I neglected to mention that before." The bird-like creature added, earning a glare from the blond.

Forcing himself back up, Naruto looked over at his current form. "Then I guess this is the worst possible choice to stand against him…" He commented before taking one more card from the Ridebooker and opening up the Decadriver.

"_**Form Ride… Kuuga Titan!"**_ The Rider System called out.

In a flash of light, a metallic plate with purple outlines appeared over the Uzumaki's chest and shoulders. The blue staff glowed gold for a second before it transformed into a purple sword. "Ah, this is a better fit." D-Kuuga Titan Form announced.

Kintaros tilted his head to the side. "Purple? Is that your Ryutaros mode?" He asked.

"Ryutaros?" Naruto repeated. "What's that another Imagin?" He asked.

"Correct… He was the one with the gun." Sieg confirmed.

The spiky haired boy snorted. "Whatever… I guess I will have to deal with him later and pay him back from our last encounter." Naruto commented. "But in the meantime…" The young man said, taking a more aggressive stance, the purple eyes of his Rider form glaring at the Den-O variant.

The Imagin let out a short laugh. "You're an interesting fellow, Naruto-kun." He admitted. "Let's see if you have the strength to back up everything you have said."

The two Riders dashed towards one another.

Sieg observed the two warriors from the sideline. From the Imagin's point of view, they look almost like a pair of armored boulders clashing against one another. None of them had much mobility in their current form and they could not always block, so when sword and axe were swung, hitting the other's chest or shoulder, each Rider seemed to uncaringly shrug off any damage, and instead continued to unrelentingly attack. The white Imagin watched as Naruto managed to dodge an incoming attack, causing the DenGasher to hit a tree instead, which gave up under Kintaros' strength and unceremoniously fell to the ground.

D-Kuuga took the chance and swung his sword at Den-O's back, hitting the Imagin and causing him to topple over. The blond moved in to follow up on his attack, but Kintaros was able to recover quicker than the Uzumaki expected, so before the purple sword could come down, the Den-O variant thrust his palm once again, pushing the spiky haired teen away with the same strength as before. Even through the heavy chest place Naruto could feel the force behind the attack.

The Riders went back to trading blows with their weapons, occasionally sneaking in a punch or a kick. From a casual onlooker's perspective, it would seem as if the two fighters were canceling each other out, but, Sieg's trained eyes knew better. Despite how closely match Naruto and Kintaros seemed to be, little by little, the spiky haired boy responds time was falling behind to the strong Imagin's steady, but merciless, pace.

Finally, the blond missed a block and the DenGasher hit the unprotected section of his right arm, causing the fake Kuuga to drop his sword. Unarmed, the Uzumaki was unable to protect himself from the Den-O variant's onslaught.

Kintaro landed several strikes on his opponent until he finally delivered a powerful upwards slash with his axe, sending the armored Rider flying back.

Naruto had trouble trying to push his body off the ground as the pain and exhaustion prevented him from standing up in his own two feet. Weakly, the young man looked up as the yellow Rider walked towards him.

"You should stop now, Naruto-kun…" Kintaros stated. "You have a really strong will and I see a lot of potential in you, but in this battle our conviction is stronger than yours."

Naruto glared at the Imagin as he was finally able to lift his knees off the dirt.

The Den-O variant shook his head. "I know that you want to help Gaara, but believe me when I say that we, the Imagin, are doing what's best for him." Kintaros tried to get his point across.

D-Kuuga growled. "Like I care what you have to say!" The young man exclaimed. "I… Won't be defeated by the likes of you…!"

The yellow Rider sighed. "Very well…" He muttered, taking out the Rider Pass and swiping it in front of the Rider System.

"_**Full Charge"**_ The belt called as Den-O threw his axe up in the air and the buckle started to blink with a yellow light.

In an impressive show of agility, Kintaros jumped and caught the DenGasher in midair. Immediately the energy stored inside the Terminal Buckle transferred into the weapon as the Den-O variant brought the axe down onto fake Kuuga.

A sizeable explosion went off in the clearing as the slash transferred all in the blade's energy into the spiky haired teen's body.

"Dynamic Chop…" The yellow Rider said once the dust cleared.

Kuuga Titan Form's Rider armor faded back to Decade's for a instant before that disappeared as well, leaving simply a battered and bruised Naruto. The Decadriver fell off the young man's waist and landed on the dirt barely seconds before the Uzumaki's body followed suit.

Kintaros remained standing silently for a couple of seconds while his eyes regarded his defeated opponent.

"I cannot lose… Against a Rider…" Naruto whispered in half consciousness.

Still without saying a word, the Den-O variant turned around and started to walk away. "Sieg…" The Imagin finally spoke. "Tell Temari-san that we will take care of Gaara from now own and that nothing will happen to him." He requested before reassuming his walk.

The white Imgain's gaze move alarmingly from the retreating Den-O to the fallen blond and back not knowing what to do. "Naruto-san… I'm sorry." He said looking at the boy. Suddenly Sieg's gaze saw Naruto's hand moving slowing towards the Decadriver, reaching the white device and gripping it tightly.

Kintaros stopped on his track when he sensed something was amiss. Turning around, he was surprised to find the spiky haired teen back on his feet. The Leaf headband had fallen off the young man's head causing some of his hair to fall over the upper part of his face, ominously hiding his eyes from view. "Naruto-kun, stop it… You're body can't possibly keep going." The Imagin stated.

Ignoring the Rider's words, the blond simply brought the white Rider System back to his waist, letting the straps wrap around it. Bringing the Decade card up, the Uzumaki inserted it into the belt. _**"Kamen Rider…"**_ It called out.

The Den-O variant swore under his breath. "I said that's enough, Naruto-kun! Don't you realize that I am stronger than you? You cannot win!" He shouted hurriedly.

Sieg watched as the blond continued to disregard Kintaros' words and he could not help but feel that something was odd with the boy from Konoha. "Henshin…" The Imgain heard Naruto uttered in what almost sounded like a distorted version of his usual voice.

The Uzumaki finally closed the belt buckle. _**"Decade!"**_ It called out before transforming the young man once more.

Kintaros watched as the magenta Rider started to walk slowly walk towards him. "If that's the way you want it…" The Imagin solemnly said before he dashed forwards to meet his opponent, already swinging the axe.

Both Imagin were thoroughly surprised when the blond simple brought his arm up to block the attack and not only was successful in doing so, but he did not even flinch at the collision. "Impossible…" Was all that Sieg managed to utter.

Den-O tried to push the young man back, but despite his great strength, Decade did not move an inch. "What's hap…?" The yellow Rider started to question until he received a powerful punch the blond left on the side of his head. Kintaros' lights went out for a second as his body was thrown to the side by the force of the punch. Looking up, the Den-O variant barely half time to move out of the way and evade his opponent's foot as it stomped down where he had been lying.

Kintaros managed to get back on his feet and immediately try to attack his opponent again. This time Den-O's arm was actually caught mid swing.

With his opponent at his mercy, Decade delivered another two powerful punches on the yellow Rider, causing the Imagin to lose his footing and drop down to his knees. The magenta Rider then kicked his opponent away with enough strength to send him flying back until his back hit a tree.

"Wha… What is going on…?" The Den-O variant asked while the used the tree behind him for support. "Are you even the same Rider?" He asked as he watched Decade walk towards him. Predicting his opponent's intentions, Kintaros jumped out of the way just as the blonde's fist came flying towards him, successfully dodging the attack.

The tree however was not that lucky. After the Imagin got out of the way, the magenta Rider's fist went straight through tree trunk, completely shattering it into millions of splinters. "Who knows…?" Naruto's altered voice responded as he dusted the pieces of wood off his arm. "I'm supposed to be the Destroyer, right?"

The yellowed Rider took a step back as Decade's green optics fell on him when the turned his head to the side. Kintaros could feel the extremely potent killer intent that the magenta Rider emanated while he finish turning his entire body towards the axe wielding warrior.

The Uzumaki reached to the Ridebooker for another card and inserted it into his belt. _**"Final Attack Ride…"**_ The Rider System called out. Somehow, Den-O was one-hundred percent sure that his opponent was smirking as he closed the buckle. _**"De-De-Decade!"**_

A row of golden holographic cards appeared between the Imgain and the spiky haired teen as the latter set his weapon to gun mode and lifted it up.

Kintaros was overwhelmed with dread at the sight before him just moments before his enemy pulled the trigger, sending a red blast down the Dimensional Road. Acting on instinct, Den-O managed to quickly switch into Sword Mode and jump out of the blast's way at the last second.

The explosion engulfed the entire clearing in dust and smoke. "Damn it… What the hell was that…?" Momotaros questioned as he struggled to stand.

"**Senpai, I think it would be better if we take our leave now…"** Urataros' voiced reached the red Rider.

The Den-O variant tightened his fist. "Damn…" He cursed, but nevertheless turned around and started to run before the dust could settle.

Decade's eyes followed Den-O's retreating form through the smoke. "Heh…" The magenta Rider let out a short laugh before opening up the Decadriver.

Immediately, the Decade card was ejected from the buckle and the Rider armor disappeared from the blonde's.

Naruto stood in the middle of the burned clearing panting heavily for a second before his body gave up and he fell down to the ground.

"Naruto-san, what happened?" The Imagin asked as he completely reformed his body and moved towards the downed teen, still having problems processing what he had just witnessed.

"I… I don't know…" Naruto said, struggling to even keep consciousness. The Uzumaki could barely recall what had happened during the last couple of minutes, all he knew was that now his entire body was screaming in pain. "What… What the hell is happening…?" He exclaimed before passing out.

* * *

The young man reentered the dark room. "Sir! The report from our scout has arrived!" He informed.

"And…?" The older man questioned, not even bothering to turn his chair to face his subordinates.

The newcomer stumbled a little over his words for a couple of seconds. "Well… We have confirmed that the target is still in the forest..." He hesitated for a bit. "But also that Wing Form and at least one Leaf Rider are also there." The young man informed. "Of course we can assume that Wing Form is there for the target as well, but we are not sure in which way the Leaf Rider is involved in this, since the report said that he fought against the target… Twice." He finished his report.

The seated man kept quiet for several minutes, not making one single movement.

"Uhm… Sir…" The young man tried to get his superior's attention. "What are you orders?" He finally asked.

"Tell the capture team to get ready, let them know that there will not be any room for error, so we are pulling up all the stops for this." He declared receiving a nod and small bow from his subordinate. "And…" He suddenly said, stopping the young man on his way out the dark room. "What of the other one? Did the report say anything else about him?" He questioned.

The messenger tilted his head in confusing. "Sir?"

Finally spinning his chair, the man looked at his subordinate. "The Leaf Rider that was able to fight against Den-O… Twice, no less…" He clarified. "I find that matter really interesting."

* * *

Sakura's eyes widened. "Wait a minute! Are you saying that you're brother is basically four Riders in one?" She exclaimed.

Temari nodded her head solemnly. "Yes, Den-O's power is split in four forms, each connected to its own Imagin." The older girl exclaimed.

The Femme Rider bit her lip. She had tried her best to assure the blond girl that Naruto was strong enough to bring back her brother, but knowing now the truth behind Den-O, she was starting to have her doubts. _"But Naruto is technically multiple Riders in one as well."_She thought. _"He turned into Faiz on his first day, who knows what else he has up his sleeve…"_ The young woman rationalized.

"I think it would be better if I go look for them." The girl from Suna suddenly said as she stood up.

Sakura immediately followed suit. "You can't!" She stated. "You're not in the best of shapes and you could get lost trying to find them." The pink haired girl said trying to keep her companion in place. "If anything I should go look for them."

The Den-O Rider shook her head. "No, it must be me…" The blond stated. "I'm able to sense Sieg, so I actually have a better chance to find them." She informed.

"None of you should go…" A third voice echoed through the clearing. Both girls looked up to the source to find a raven haired young man walking towards them.

"Sauke-kun! You're back!" Sakura called out, a little unsure on how to treat her teammate due to their current situation.

The Uchiha simply nodded at his team leader's words. "I will go look for Naruto." The Blade Rider stated.

Eyes widening slightly, the Haruno looked at the young man. "Uhm… How much did you hear… Sasuke-kun?" The pink haired girl questioned. She and Temari had been talking for quite a while before they became aware of his presence.

"Enough to know that Naruto is in over his head." The Uchiha stated. "A kidnapping organization and a Rider with four different forms? He should have known better before going off." The raven haired boy stated, already walking away from the girls. "I'll find him and drag him and that Imagin-thing back." He added as he placed the Blade Buckle around his waist.

However, before the boy could exist the clearing, he stopped dead on his tracks. Sakura leaned to see what had stopped Sasuke and feet went cold. "You will not do such thing." Kakashi stated as he stood over his student, signaling him to walk back towards his teammate.

Without saying a worth, though he did sent a glare, the Blade Rider followed his instructions and turned around.

"Now…" The silver haired man started. "How did I know that one of you was going to really cause trouble in this simple mission?" He questioned as he fixed his hat.

Neither Sakura nor Sasuke were able to respond to their teacher's question, instead they just simply looked away.

After not getting an answer, the Skull Rider simply walked towards the group, passing his two students, and standing before the girl from Suna. "Something tells me that this entire situation is actually even more complicated that what Naruto has made it." The man commented. "So now… I want to know the truth." He stated, his only visible eyes looking straight at the blond.

* * *

**A/N – Well there you go… Try to guess which part I wanted to get to.**

**This chapter actually deviated from how I originally meant it to be. At first I had planned for Naruto and Kintaros to have a much longer talk, but that was getting a little too convoluted so I scrap it out. All in all, this chapter might not be the best, but I kind of liked it, but that might be because of how easy it was to write. Anyways, next chapter won't be as "action oriented" as the last two, so expect a fair share of exposition.**

* * *

_**Preview: Rider World Chapter 9 – Colorful Memories**_

-The Leaf Riders look at the Temari.

"How could someone go through all that?"

-Naruto sits against a tree as he gazes up at Sieg who looks.

"I will tell you the truth behind Momotaros and others."

"Two identities that should have never come together."

-A young red haired boy looks at his reflection in the mirror.

"Tell me your wish."

-Naruto pushes Sieg away from him.

"But… Why…?"

"If it's not my fight, then I will make it mine!"

-Tears run down Temari's face.

"How much longer can you bear it… Such tremendous burden?"

-A spiky haired redhead stands strongly as the Terminal Buckle appears around him.

"I am the Great Momotaros!"

"And I will end this!"


	9. Colorful Memories

**A/N – Despite actually having free time, something that I lacked for about two months, I had almost no motivation for this chapter. Nevertheless I forced myself to begin and see if I could kick start the chapter. During that time I watched The Next movie…. But that just made things worse, then I started Kuuga, that actually did help a bit, and then Kamen Rider Fourze's design was made official… While I think the helmet is so ridiculous it has Blade pointing and laughing while Hibiki is snickering and Amazon dances gleefully, because they are not the odd Riders out anymore, it did motivated me a bit to write this chapter. Anyways, here chapter 9…**

**One last note though: A actual rocket punch? Really, Fourze?**

* * *

_**Colorful Memories**_

The boy could hear voices in the distance. They were all talking hurriedly and with a serious tone. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the young boy briefly wondered what was so important to have them talk about so gravely.

"_Are they talking about me…?"_ He questioned as he forcibly opened his one eye that was not covered. Through the tank's dyed water, the world around him seemed to have a strange blue hue. Once his eye got used to the water, the shapes on the room beyond the tank were finally starting to become define.

As he looked around the room, as much as he could since his body was bound tightly, his pale blue eyes finally settled on the figure nearest to him. Unlike the other people in the room, this one was small, just a little bigger than himself, and quiet. Even though the water was making it hard for the boy, he could clearly see that the figure was a girl, and she was looking right back at him.

"_Who is she…?"_ The boy wondered. _"I know I've seen her before… But where…?"_ The question echoed in his mind as his eye saw that girl take a step closer towards the water tank. The young boy was not sure how, but the moment the blond girl placed her hand on the tank's glass, he fell an unexpected, but extremely comforting, warmth.

"I already told you, sir, this is as far as we can go!" The voices from the other people in the room reached the boy. "This is the limit of how far his body can take the treatment… If we were to push thing further, I have no idea what would happen!"

The boy's eyes moved from the girl to the figures behind her. _"Are they still arguing?"_ He wondered.

The sound of a fist slamming against a desk was heard. "What do you mean you cannot go any further?" An authoritative voice asked. "The reading for his synchronization rate is not even a shadow of what it was the first time!" The man shouted.

"That… That time must have been just a fluke…" The other person responded, there was a clear tremble of hesitation in this individual's voice.

"No, it was not!" The man shouted back. "We all saw what he could do… All I am asking is for you to find a way to bring that out of him again!" He said forcibly. The man then shifted his eyes from the figure in the lab coat in front of him towards the water tank. "Temari! Step away from there!" He suddenly shouted.

Quickly looking at the girl, the boy saw her jump slightly at the unexpected order.

She looked back at the man for a second and then slowly turned around and started to move away. "Very well, Father…" She said a as walked.

Yes, now the young boy recognized the authoritative figure in the room as his father, the current Kazekage. Gaara's mind became clearer, allowing him to understand his situation better.

It had been some time, perhaps a month or two, since they had started the experiments on him. The scientist in Suna wanted to know more about his Rider System and the reason why it was able to emit such a large power output the first time he used it. According to the boy's father, everything that they were doing was for the betterment of the village and that, if his mother could have seen him, then she would have been proud that her Gaara was going to become the Hero of the Sand.

That was the reason why the young redhead had endured so many experiments. After all the treatment and procedures to unlock the true power of Den-O, his mind had become so blurry that he had almost forgotten his own sister.

Suddenly, as he watched his sister's figure become blurrier and blurrier with every step she took away from the water tank, a strong sense of desperation started to invade Gaara's body. Despite being almost completely restrained, the redhead tried to fight off his binding and reach out for the blond girl.

He had very little movement with all the restraints around him, but he continued to push them, even as he felt them burry into his skin. The boy would have given anything to get out of the tank and call out for his sister at that moment.

"Kazekage-sama! Look at this...!" Another scientist suddenly exclaimed as he directed the village leader's attention towards him. "The synchronization rate… It suddenly started to rise! We have never gotten such a high reading since we started the experiment!" The man on the lab coat said excitedly.

Gaara saw his father's blurry figure bent down slightly in front of a monitor for a couple of seconds before straightening back up. "See… I told you that he had not reached his limit." The Kazekage said as he faced the first scientist, his voice filled with self-satisfaction. The man walked closer towards the tank. "Now, continue the experiments and double the dosage. I want Gaara to become the strongest Kamen Rider!" He said as his eyes proudly looked at the young boy.

The redhead looked into his father's eyes for a second, before pain rushed through his entire body. He had felt that type of pain many times before since the experiments started, but this time was somehow different, the pain ran rampant through his body almost like a fire that burned his insides. It was too much for him; even if he let everyone in the village down, the boy could not go through the experiment any longer. All that Gaara wanted at the moment was to get out of the water tank and go home with his sister.

"The synchronization level with the Terminal Buckle is still rising, Kazekage-sama!" The young boy vaguely heard the second scientist gleefully exclaimed.

Gaara tried to scream, but the oxygen mask that provided him with oxygen prevented anyone outside the tank from hearing it. Everything for the young boy went black before he finally passed out.

By the time the redhead woke up, he found himself lying face up on the floor, though, at least, finally outside the tank. He was in a small white room, the same room he had been staying at from the start of the experiment. Gaara tried to force his body of the floor, but found that his body felt too heavy to move.

"I can't stay on the floor… I have to get up…" The young boy whispered to himself. Almost as if it had heard him, his body finally responded and the boy was able to sit up and eventually get back on his feet.

After having been on the water tank for so long, Gaara felt his body extremely numb. He could barely fell the weight of his own body now, or the cold of the tiled, white floor. Seeing the mirror on the side of the room, the boy willed his body to walk towards it.

The boy's eyes widened at the reflection in the mirror, or at least he thought they were his eyes, because instead of the clear blue color, the one on the reflective surface were bright red. In fact, the changes to his usual reflection did not stopped there, since Gaara could see that the boy reflected on the mirror had his red hair spiking upwards. "What's going on…?" He asked the mirror.

"What do you mean?" The reflection responded, scaring the hell out of the young boy.

Gaara watched in a mixture of fear and amazement as his strange reflection eyed him curiously. "Who are you?" The boy asked the glass.

The spike haired boy rubbed his chin. "Hmm… I guess I don't really have a name yet…" He commented, moving his hand to scratch the back of his head as he thought. "I got it! My name will be Momotaros!" The reflection announced before he pointed at himself with his thumb. "I am the Great Momotaros!"

Gaara tilted his head to the side. "Momotaros…?" He repeated. The truth was that had been the name the young boy was thinking about when he considered the other boy's red eyes, right before his reflection announced it. "But… Why are you in the mirror…? Why are you…?" The young boy's question trailed off due to his inability to fully comprehend the situation.

The reflection glared at the boy. "For you, of course!" Momotaros announced. "I heard you call out for help back there, so I immediately came in running." He firmly stated.

"You're here… For me?" Gaara repeated as he started at the boy in the mirror.

"That's right!" Momotaros confirmed, crossing his arm and nodding to emphasize his point. "I'm not exactly sure just how I got here in the first place, but all I know is that I am for your sake."

Slowly, Gaara reached out for the mirror as his reflection did the same. When their hands touched, all that the boy could feel was a cold glass surface. "You're not really here…" He sadly commented as he looked down at his hand.

"Of course I am!" The boy in the mirror firmly stated. "And I'll prove it." Momotaros assured as he gave Gaara a serious look through the glass. "Tell me your wish… Tell me what you desire the most, and I will grant it for you to prove that I exist."

Gaara remained silent for a couple of seconds. In reality, he wanted to laugh off the spiky haired boy's words, but something on his eyes told him that he was truly serious. "I… I wish…" The redhead started to say but suddenly stopped. It was at that moment that Gaara realized that, while back in the tank he had been ready to scream to the heavens to free him from the experiments, now he felt nothing. All desire that the young boy had of rebelling against his father's ambition to turn him into the strongest Kamen Rider and that fiery sensation he had felt that drove him to try and reach for his sister were both completely gone. He did not have anything to request from the boy inside the mirror.

* * *

(10 Years Later – Present Time)

Sakura watched with widened emerald eyes as tears threatened to fall down Temari's face. "Then… That means that the Imagin…" She started to say but trailed off.

The Den-O Rider simply nodded. "Yes… Each Imagin was once a part of Gaara's psyche that broke away during the experiments, taking a piece of Den-O's power with them. That day, Momotaros took Gaara's stubbornness and his strength of will." She informed as her eyes trailed off to the distance. "After that, the scientist still had no idea what had caused Gaara's power output to spike, or why was it at its all time low afterward."

All three Leaf Riders remain silent as they listened to the tale.

"They did not realized what had happened until two more Imagin had appeared, Urataros, who had Gaara's enjoyment of life and his deceit, and Kintaros, created from both his fervor and languor." A short, hollow laugh escaped the blond. "My father was furious when he first realized that Den-O's power had been fractured by the three Imagin, but when the scientist informed him that they were making the Rider System a lot more manageable, he ordered the treatment to continue…" Temari said.

"And that's when the fourth Imagin came into existence…" Sakura finished for the older girl.

The young woman nodded. "Ryuutaros… Taking Gaara's childishness and selfishness, as well as a large portion of Den-O's power." The Sand Rider continued to explain. "As time went on, Gaara was able to _come up with_ more detailed forms for the Imagin… And the scientists were able to perfect their technique, creating Sieg without really taking anything much more from my brother's consciousness." She let out another humorless laugh. "A little too late by then, since Gaara had already been pretty much mined hollow." She commented. "All he feels he has left now is to grant my father's own wish of turning him into the strongest Kamen Rider."

When she saw tears run down the older girl's cheek, Sakura immediately placed a hand on her shoulder. "So that's why the Imagin are doing all of this… They don't want Gaara to have to continue the experiments." The pink haired said.

"I would believe so…" Temari responded. "They probably think that this is Gaara's wish… And I would be lying if I said that I wanted my father to continue using him like a guinea-pig… But it's far too dangerous for them to be out there all alone if someone is already after by brother!" She stated.

Sakura nodded at her words. "Don't worry about it." The Femme Rider assured the older girl. "I'm sure Naruto already found your brother, so we just have to find them." The Haruno said as she offered a smile.

Sasuke sighed as he looked away from the two girls. _"If Shikamaru had been here, he would have made a comment about how troublesome this situation is…"_ The Uchiha thought as he looked around at the campsite. The Blade Rider knew too well about the desire to become stronger, but what he had just heard was definitely taking things too far. "How could someone go through all that…?" The raven haired teen asked in a low voice to no one in particular.

Having remained silent throughout the entire story, Kakashi finally stepped forward. "Continue…" The silver haired man simply said as his visible eye bore down on the girl. The younger Rider immediately looked at the man with a mixture of confusion and surprise. "I do not believe that what you said is the entire story…"

Temari's eyes wavered. "But… Why… Why would you say that?" She questioned, fighting to keep her yes on older Rider, lest it would give her away.

"Simple, it seems to me that this criminal organization is going to extraordinary lengths to kidnap your brother, even if he's an exceptionally strong Rider." Kakashi pointed out. "Also… Rider Systems and Kamen Riders have been studied since the time of Odin, and nothing like what you described has ever occurred, that tells me that there is even more about your brother that you're not telling us." The Skull Rider firmly declared.

The Den-O Rider tried her best, but eventually she failed as her gaze fell down to the ground. "You're right…" She admitted as new tears formed on her eyes. "The truth is that, before becoming Den-O, Gaara…" Temari started but she choked.

* * *

With arduous strain, Naruto was able to open his eyes again. "What happened…?" He asked weakly as he looked at his surroundings. The forest around the blond was dark and the sound of nocturnal critters could be heard coming from every direction.

"Naruto-san! You finally woke up!" Sieg called out as he emerged from the ground right in front of the spiky haired teen.

The Decade Rider brought his hands to his face to rub his eyes. He felt his body extremely heavy and all of his actions very taxing. "How long was I out?" He asked. From the last thing that the young man could remember, the sun was still up before he passed out.

The white Imagin cleared his throat before he begun to talk. "You were out for several hours now. In my eternal courteousness, I decided to stay by your side until you regained consciousness." Sieg proudly stated.

Giving the Imagin a look, Naruto tried to push his body away from the tree he had been sleeping against. "Thanks…" The teen said halfheartedly. Just as the Uzumaki finally managed to get back on his feet, his body gave up on him and he felt back against the tree. "Damn…"

Sieg observed the young man struggle to even get up. "Just what happened back there, Naruto-san?" The white creature asked. "After Kintaros attack you simply stood back up… Different…" He tried to describe what he had witnessed.

"I don't know…" Naruto admitted as he gave up trying to get back up and simply sat back down on the ground. "The last thing I could remember was that bastard's ax coming down… Next thing I know, he's running away, I'm back on the ground, and my body hurts all over." The Decade Rider said with a grimace.

Silence over took the pair as they both reflected on the blonde's battle with Den-O.

After a couple of minutes, Naruto looked up at the Imagin. "It seems that those guys are more determined on keeping Gaara away from Suna than one would expect." He commented. "Is there something you're not telling me, Sieg?" The young man asked seriously.

The Imagin looked surprised at the question, but instead of answering it, he redirected his gaze away from the spiky haired teen.

Naruto growled. "Damn it, bird! You promised to tell me everything!" The teen shouted as he looked angrily at the Imagin.

"You have to understand, Naruto-san... There are things that people them to stay secret." Sieg commented, still refusing to look at the Decade Rider.

"Like it matters now!" The blond shouted. "Those guys were willing to go to such extremes for a reason and I want to know why and you're going to tell me!" The spiky haired teen firmly stated.

Even if he did not look, Sieg could feel the pair of sapphire eyes burn onto him. The Imagin turned completely away from the Leaf Rider. "Very well, Naruto-san…" He muttered quietly. "I will tell you the truth behind Momotaros and the others."

The Imagin proceed to tell the young man about everything that Gaara had gone through ever since he had acquired the Den-O Rider System. Of the experiments that the redhead had to undergo, which led up to the creation of the Imagin, and what it ultimately cost Gaara.

"All because his father wanted the strongest Kamen Rider…?" Naruto questioned quietly.

"In a way, yes…" Sieg responded. "But it was also to help the village's technological advances through the study of the Rider System." He added after a while.

The Decade Rider pondered everything that he had heard for a moment. "But how could the Rider System… Create you guys?" The blond finally asked. "I'm not very knowledgeable about Kamen Riders, but I've never heard of anything like that happening." The young man pointed out as he looked at the Imagin's face for an answer.

Surely enough, the shifting in the Imagin's feet gave him away. "I… I would not know…" The bird-like creature tried to play off.

Naruto glared at the Imagin. "I told you to tell me everything, Sieg!" He said angrily. "What really create you?" The teen demanded to know.

Sieg gazed into the forest for some time. What the young man from Konoha was asking for were deep, dark secrets of the Sand, but for someone reason, the Imagin felt like he wanted to divulge them. In a weird way, the more time that that the white creature spent with the blond, the more that the spiky haired teen reminded him of Gaara. Naruto's presence calmed the Imagin the same way that his creator did.

"The real reason behind the birth of us, Imagin, is the encounter of two very different factors." The bird-like creature finally said. "The Kamen Riders who are beloved by everybody and the Jinchuuriki that are scorned by everyone… They are two identities that should never come together…" Sieg revealed.

The Decade Rider gave the Imagin a confused look. "Jinchuuriki? What's that?"

The white being finally turned to look at teen. "Jinchuuriki is the name given to those that act as vessels for the Bijuu." He informed.

"Bijuu? You mean like the Kyuubi that attack Konoha all those years ago?" The blond questioned.

Sieg nodded. "Precisely." The Imagin answered before continuing. "Today, scientists know that a Kamen Rider's power and a Jinchuuriki's chakra resonate with each other, and when the two come together… Unusual things can occur."

Naruto looked down at the ground as his mind processed those words. "That means that Gaara has one of those things sealed inside of him?" He asked.

Nodding again, the Imagin proceeded. "Gaara-sama is the container of the Ichibi no Shukaku. In fact, my ability to create a body out of sand comes from the Bijuu itself." Seig commented as he stood before the young man.

"One thing loved and one thing hated…" The blond repeated in a low voice. Surprising the Imagin, the spiky haired teen suddenly stood up. "Ok, let's go…" He announced.

"Go? Go were?" Sieg asked confused.

The blond gave the bird-like creature a annoyed look. "To look for Gaara and those Taros of course!" He answered. "I promised that I would bring Gaara back with me and I intend to keep my word, we'll figure out what to do to stop those experiments later." The young man stated confidently.

Sieg was astonished by the spiky haired teen in front of him. Shaking the surprised off, the Imgain placed his hands on the blonde's shoulders, keeping him in place. "You cannot, Naruto-san, you are too exhausted to go picking another fight with Momotaros and your body is about to give up again." He tried to reason.

Naruto shrugged the Imagin's hands off. "If I'm tired, then they must be tired too." The Decade Rider said as he pushed the white being aside and started to walk away. "This forest is too dangerous for them right now, with all the Riotroopers and who knows what else roaming around… I promise that I will find Gaara, stop those experiments, and teach those Imagin a lesson!" The teen declared. "I will end this!" The young man stated before he started to walk again.

The white Imagin watched the boys back. While he should laugh at the blonde's ludicrous declaration of stopping the experiments, something inside of him wanted to believe it. "It looks like you are already carrying a heavy load on your back, is that why you can make those promises so easily?" Sieg said in a voice too low for the Decade Rider to hear it. "But how much longer can you bear them… Such heavy burdens?"

Naruto continued to walk unaware of his companion's word. "Let's go, Sieg! I can't track them by myself!" He called out without looking back.

The Imagin remained still for a couple of seconds before nodding. "Very well…" Sieg said as he brought both hands behind his back and walked after the Leaf Rider.

* * *

He walked decidedly through a darkened hall as his subordinate tried to keep up with his long strides. "How are the preparations?" The man asked.

Almost out of breath due to his superior's fast pace, the young man struggled to answer. "It… It seems that the capture team may have located the target already." He informed. "They should have started their preparations by now.

The man nodded in approval. "Good to know…" He commented. "And what about the other Rider?"

The younger man started to look through the report he carried at the question. "It appears that they went on separate directions after their second fight… But now it seems that he started to look for the target again."

The man considered the information he had just been given for a few seconds. "Tell the capture team to hold off for now." He finally said. "They are to wait until the Leaf Rider shows up. I want them both, is that clear?" He ordered while giving his subordinate a serious look.

"Of… Of course…" The young man's words tripped over themselves. He stopped on his track and gave his superior a bow. "I will send the message to the capture team right away, sir!" He announced before turning around and walking back down the hall. Every so often, he would look over his shoulder at the older man's figure until it finally disappeared into the darkness. Briefly, the young man wondered what was so especial about Kamen Rider Den-O and the new Rider from Konoha that merited all the fuss, but he was not about to voice his opinion and be on the receiving end of his superior's wrath.

* * *

Naruto dropped down on the small clearing and looked up ahead. Beneath a large tree slept peacefully a redhead boy around his age and, unlike the last time that the blond had seen him, his hair fell down over his forehead.

"That's how Gaara normally looks…" Sieg informed the Uzumaki in a low voice.

Silently, Naruto walked closer towards unconscious young man. "Hey! Wake up, you bastards!" The spiky haired teen loudly called out for the Imagin.

Immediately, a flash of red light went off over Gaara's body and his hair spiked up again. "Damn you!" Momotaros' voice called out as he jumped to his feet. "I was having the most wonderful dream in which Gaara finally let me have all the pudding I wanted and you come along and ruin it, you magenta-jerk!" The Imagin exclaimed as he stomped the ground.

The Decade Rider scoffed. "Like I care about pudding or any of that nonsense… I'm here to take Gaara back with me!" The young man announced.

It was Momotaros' turn to jeer at the other guy's words. "As if I would let you." He commented. "And, as I recall, your transformation came undone first during our last battle, so that means you lost!" The redhead started as he crossed his arms and smirked.

"Heh… But at least I wasn't the one who ran away crying! So you lost by default!" Naruto countered, glaring at the other spiky haired teen and receiving a glare right back.

Sieg watched the two Riders bicker with one another and sighed. The Uzumaki might remind the white Imagin of Gaara a lot, but his personality was far more like Momotaros'.

"You're one to talk! Your Rider armor looks pink!" The Den-O variant managed to shout through gritting teeth.

"It's not pink! It's magenta!" The Decade Rider shouted back. "And at least I don't look as if I have a damn peach on my helmet!"

Before their verbal battle became anymore childish, Sieg cleared his throat in order to gain Naruto's attention and get him back on track.

Turning back to Momotaros, the boy sent one more glare. "Anyways, like I said, I'm taking Gaara back to his sister!"

The redhead looked away from the blond. "And as I said before, over my dead body!" He shot back.

A pair of sapphire eyes narrowed. "I know what happened to Gaara in the past…" Naruto informed. "And I promise you that Gaara will not have to go through all that ever again!" He exclaimed.

Momotaros glanced at the other spiky haired teen for a second before looking away again. "As if you could do anything about…" He commented. "You have nothing to do with this whole mess! It isn't even your fight!" The Imagin angrily stated.

"If it's not my fight, then I will make it mine!" The blond declared.

Astonished by the Leaf Rider's declaration, all that the Den-O variant could do was stare wordlessly. Coming back to his senses, the Imagin growled. "You think you can fix things just like that…?" He questioned. "Who the hell do you think you are?" The redhead screamed before rushing at the blond, his first already pulled back.

Naruto moved out of the way as the Suna Rider's punch came flying back. The blond continued to dodge punch after kick after punch as the other spiky haired teen attacked him wildly.

"You piss me off more than anyone else!" Momotaros shouted. "You have no idea what Gaara has been through and yet you claim you can make it all better!" The enraged Imagin said as he tried to punch the young man's face.

Thanks to all of his training while trying to become a shinobi, Naruto easily caught the incoming fist. "You're right… I don't know exactly what Gaara had to bear through…" The Uzumaki admitted. "But I do know how it feels to be completely alone… What it means to give up something precious for a dream…" The teen's free hand closed tightly. "And I will help Gaara!" He said before driving his fist right to the redhead's jaw.

Momotaros was thrown back by the force of the punch. Rubbing his now bruised jaw, the Imagin stood up and glared at his opponent. "I'm going to finish this once and for all…" The possessed teen said as the Terminal Buckle appeared around his waist.

"I will make you see that I'm strong enough to save Gaara…" Naruto responded as he brought out the Decadriver and let its straps wrap around him. "And I will end this!" The young man added as he inserted a card into his Rider System while across from him, his opponent swiped the Rider Pass in front of his.

"Henshin!" Both spiky haired boys called out in unison.

"_**Kamen Rider…"**_

"_**Sword Form"**_

As the Aura Skin appeared over Gaara's body, Naruto closed his belt buckle. _**"Decade!"**_

The grey figures that appeared converged onto the blond, the sides taking a magenta hue, as the red armor assembled itself onto Den-O.

The two Riders starred each other down for a second before the both suddenly rushed forwards. Their fists ready to fly at their opponent.

Suddenly, the entire clearing was engulfed in a fireball as a large explosion went off right before the young men's attacks could hit their target. Both Decade and Den-O were thrown to the ground as more subsequent explosions detonated all around them.

Through the flames, Naruto was barely able to register when the Imagin's transformation came undone and Gaara's body was left lying unconsciously on the ground. Feeling his own Rider armor start to disappear, the blond turned around at set his eyes on the stunned Sieg. "Go back to the campsite and tell the others…!" The Uzumaki managed to call out right before one more blast went off next to him. Everything turned black afterwards.

* * *

Sakura's emerald eyes gazed at the darkness of the forest. "Where could those guys be…?" She wondered, her confidence in that the blond would return with Temari's brother waning with each passing second.

"Maybe the idiot got lost on his way back… If we listen closely, chances are we'll hear him calling out for us." Sasuke offered. The raven haired boy was not used to be the one to lightened the mood, and by the cold reception his attempt at a joke had, he was now reminded of why.

For his part, Kakashi remained silent, as he had been for the past few hours. _"So this Gaara is Suna's Jinchuuriki… And he's probably somewhere out there with Naruto…"_ The silver haired man pondered. _"I don't like where this is going…"_

Suddenly, Temari, who had been sitting silently beneath a tree, shot to her feet and looked at the edge of the clearing.

Right from the direction that the young woman's eyes were directed at, a small ball of line came flying into the clearing.

"Sieg!" The blond called out as the shining sphere disappeared through the ground.

Right in its place, the white Imagin's body formed out of the sand, surprising both Kakashi and Sasuke. "They were captured!" Was the first thing that the bird-like creature uttered once his body was completed.

The Rider's eyes widened. "What do you mean?" Sakura asked, being the first to shake off her surprise.

"Gaara-sama and Naruto-san…. They were both captured by the same guys as before!" Sieg informed, having stuck around back there long enough to see the Riotroopers take the two teen's unconscious forms.

Sakura and Temari gasped, Sasuke punched a nearby tree, and Kakashi cursed into his facemask. "I knew this was going to get more problematic, I just knew…." The Hayate said as he rubbed his temple.

The Femme Rider looked up at her instructor. "What are we going to do now, Kakashi-sensei?" She asked. "We're going to rescue them, right?"

Sparing a second to glance at the girl, the Skull Rider let out a sigh. "It's not a simple as that…" He said, surprising the young Riders. "With Naruto captured, this has gone far beyond the scope a simple, first-time mission. We have to go back to the village and inform the Hokage of this right away." Kakashi informed, not wanting to reveal the real reason why Naruto's capture bothered him so much.

The pink haired girl had trouble processing what she had heard. "But… But you can't… You can't just leave them there and go back to the village!" The Haruno exclaimed. "Even if you won't help them, I…" Sakura's words were suddenly cut off.

Without having made a sound, Sasuke had moved from behind the Femme Rider and now stood between her and their teacher. "What Sakura says is true… Naruto and Gaara are in danger as long as they remain captive." He pointed out. "So it would be faster if you go back to the village on your own while we wait for you here." The Uchiha said as he looked at the older man in the eye.

Kakashi let out a short laugh. "Are you trying to tell me that you guys won't go charging in as soon as I turn my back?" The silver hared man half joked.

The Blade Rider's eyes remain stoic. "I know how procedures and the chain of command work." The young man commented. "Do you really expect that I would disobey a direct order?" He asked.

The Hakate held the Uchiha's gaze for about a minute before finally sighing in defeat. "Very well… I'll leave you temporarily in charge, Sasuke." The Skull Rider said before turning around and disappearing into the darkness of the forest.

The Blade Rider could feel the glares form the two girls and the white creature on his back as he stood there. "You said that bird-thing could track your brother, right?" The raven hared teen asked the blond girl once he knew Kakashi was out of earshot.

A surprised look fell on the other in the campsite. "Yes… Sieg can sense Gaara." Temari answered.

"Good, let's go." Sasuke said as he took out the Blay Buckle.

"But… But, you just said…" Sakura stammered over her words, unable to completely shrug off the astonishment.

Had the pink haired girl not known better, she could have sworn that the Uchiha had just shrugged his shoulders. "All I said is that I know what the rules are, never that I was going to follow them" The raven haired teen pointed out as his Rider System wrapped around his waist. "Kakashi-sensei can expect all he wants as far as I care." He added as he turned around, a smirk adorning his face.

The two girls had no choice but to blush, the Imagin, on the other hand, simply scoffed.

"You, the bird…" Sasuke signaled the white being. "Lead the way." He ordered, but did not wait for a responds before he started walking.

Sieg glared at the young Rider. "Why is everyone calling me _the bird_? I have a name!" The he complained. "It is Sieg!" Nevertheless, the Imagin started walking towards raven hared boy.

The two girls shared a look before their respective belts appeared around their waists and they followed suit.

* * *

"Naruto-san… Naruto-san… Naruto-san…"

The young man could hear his name been called out, but staying in the dark depths of his consciousness felt a lot more appealing at the moment.

"Naruto-san… Naruto-san… Are you ok?"

What had he been doing before losing consciousness? Oh yeah, he was fighting to help a guy he promised to protect when the damn forest suddenly exploded around them. Staying unconscious sounded better and better by the minute.

"Naruto-san… Naruto-san… Naruto-san…"

Unfortunately for the blond, whoever was calling seemed to really need him to wake up, and he could not go on ignoring it. Weakly and forcibly, the pair of sapphire eyes opened.

The spiky haired boy found himself lying in a long, and dirty metallic room. If he didn't know any better, the teen would have said that he was inside a large garbage dump. Both his hand and his arms were bounded, largely restricting his movements. After looking around, the spiky haired boy finally found who had been calling out for him.

Gaara sat just a couple of feet away from the blond with a strange looking device wrapped around him. "Are you alright, Naruto-san?" He asked.

"Don't call me Naruto-_san_…" The Uzumaki said first. "You're Gaara, right? Heh… I guess this is the first time we meet." The boy commented with a short laughed.

The redhead responded with a chuckle of his own. "I guess so…" He said. "I'm sorry for all the trouble Momotaros and the others caused while I was unconscious." The Den-O Rider apologized, giving a small bow with his neck.

"Don't worry about it… They were just trying to keep you safe." The spiky haired teen said. "Though they did a pretty lousy job at it!" He added loudly, hopping that the Imagin could hear him.

Right on cue, all the sand in the metal room gathered together in one place and started to take shape.

Unlike Sieg's bird-like features, this one looked far more devilish, with an angry face and two horns on his forehead. "You didn't do any better!" Momotaros partial form said as he glared at Naruto. "You magenta-jerk!"

* * *

**A/N – This chapter was actually longer than originally planned, the last two scenes actually belonged to the next one, but I wanted to be able to wrap everything up and end things in the next chapter. I know that Gaara is coming off as very OOC, but that's actually part of the plot and it will be explained.**

**Well, that's it for this chapter… I'm still trying to forget most of what I saw in The Next (In fact, I kind of want to make an unofficial challenge to anyone that can make a KR crossover using The First & The Next's universe, don't care if it's with an anime, game, or book, but I'll be the plot will make more sense than the movies.), trying to wrap my head around Fourze's helmet (Surprisingly I don't mind his bulky belt as much as other people seem to do.), and enjoying Kuuga.**

**I'm also considering starting a KR555/Code Geass crossover that has been in my head for a while, in case anyone is interested.**

* * *

_**Preview: Rider World Chapter 10 – Final Climax**_

-The door to the metallic room opens.

"You bastard…!"

"Do not make her sacrifice be in vain."

-Kakashi lifts the Skull Magnum.

"Move aside…"

"_**Maximum Drive!"**_

-A sphere of light enters Naruto's body.

"I… Have arrived!"

-Gaara looks up in shock.

"No..."

"Sir... His synchronization level is... Zero..."

"This is your end as Den-O."

-Momotaros looks up at Naruto.

"Gaara's _true_ wish is…"

-Decade aims his gun at the Terminal Buckle.

"Riders… Can only bring pain to people's hearts…"

"Thank you for everything… Decade."


	10. Final Climax

**A/N – This has been my longest block in quite a while… Not only that, but work and classes have been hectic this last few months and have prevented from even trying to get over the block. And if that wasn't enough, I made a miscalculation closing this arc and ended up having to cram about one and half worth of chapters into this one, some stuff had to be left out, and a lot of stuff had to be rushed.**

**I will like to thank all of you who have taken time to read this fic up until now, and especially to those of you who review it. Here's the final chapter of the Den-O Arc…**

* * *

_**Final Climax**_

_Jikan no nami wo tsukamaete_

A figure sits on top the Hokage monument, watching a fog-covered Konoha.

_Imasugu ni yukou yakusoku no basho_

Naruto places his chopsticks next to a half finished bowl of Ramen. He starts walking away from Ichiraku's as Ayame looks at his back worryingly.

_Genkai mugen_

The Third Hokage looks with interest into his crystal ball.

_Iza tobikome Climax Jump!_

The sphere shows images of Kakashi reading a book, Iruka teaching Class B, then Naruto walking through the streets.

_Ii jan! ii jan! sugee jan?_

Naruto looks up straight at the Hokage monument.

_Ii jan! ii jan! sugee jan?_

Back at the monument, Kamen Rider Decade stands up, his green visors never leaving the village.

_Kanaetai yume ga aru nara__  
_

Standing alone on a field, Naruto looks back as dozens of Kamen Rider cards fall to the ground around him.

_Shinjinakucha negatta hibi wo__  
_

Inside the water tank, Gaara opens his eyes, revealing red irises.

_Catch the wave_

Sieg and Den-O Wing Form stand back to back, they both raises a hand elegantly in perfect synchronization.

_Mayoisou na toki kanarazu_

Naruto holds the Decade card up at the distance.

_Omoi no tsuyosa ga michibiku_

Gaara sits alone in an empty room, four figures walk up to him and one of them offer him a hand as the redhead looks up.

_Kimi ga nozomu mirai sude ni_

Naruto inserts a card into the Decadriver as Gaara swipes the Rider Pass in front of the Terminal Buckle.

_In your hands__  
_

Decade and Den-O stand back to back. The former raises a card while the latter strikes a pose.

_Hajimari wa itsumo totsuzen_

Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi are shown transforming into their respective Rider forms.

_Unmei wo tsurete yuku Time tripin' ride_

Decade is surrounded by Gaara's four Den-O forms.

_Dare yori takaku kinou yori takaku_

All four Den-O start to trade blows with Decade.

_Climax Jump!_

Decade and Sword Form charge at each other, their blades glowing as they collide.

_Ii jan! ii jan! sugee jan?_

Kakashi leads his team out of Konoha. Naruto makes a comment about Sakura and starts snickering.

_Ii jan! ii jan! sugee jan?_

Sakura turns around and punches Naruto in the gut, causing him to fall over on the ground as Sasuke and Kakashi continue to walk, shaking their heads and sighing.

* * *

Cold steel was not the best choice for a pillow to sleep on, but Naruto had somehow found slumber while still trapped inside the bunker. Unfortunately for the blond, his sleep did not last long as he suddenly heard a very annoying voice beckoning back to the land of consciousness.

"Hey…! Hey…! Spiky haired bastard… Wake up…!" Momotaros sandy form called out in whispers, causing the resting blond to stir a bit before sitting back up.

Naruto glared at the strange creature's strange form. "What do you want?" The Decade Rider asked, angry at being awaken after having such a hard time finding sleep.

A scoffed escaped the Imagin. "How the hell can you even sleep in this situation?" He commented. "You must be a real simpleton." The sand creature added with a mocking tone.

"So, is Gaara a simpleton too? Because he fell asleep way before I did…!" Naruto shot back as he pointed at the slumbering redhead at the side.

"That's different!" Momotaros stated. "Gaara has been going through a lot! He needs rest in order to regain his strength!" He stated.

It was the blonde's turn to scoff. "What about me? I've had to deal with you four idiots the whole day!"

The young man and the Imagin continued to glare at each other for almost a minute.

"Anyways, what was so important that you needed to wake me up?" The Uzumaki finally asked, breaking the silence.

Momotaros let out a sound of distaste before answering. "The other Imagin and I discussed things and… It's pretty obvious that all of us are way in over our heads on this one…" The sand creature struggled to say. "So… How about we call a truce for now… Until we get out of here…" He offered.

"No." Naruto answered right away.

"What?" The Imagin exclaimed. "Why the hell not? You need us to get out of here as much as we need you!"

The Decade Rider merely shrugged his shoulders. "Simple, I do not trust you or the other Imagin. The moment we get out of here I'm sure you're just going to attack me and run away." The young man stated.

A growl escaped the sand creature. "Damn it, it's not the time for that! We have to get Gaara as far away from this place as possible!" Momotaros exclaimed, his voice betraying him at the end and letting out a hint of desperation. "We have to protect Gaara from all of this…"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "This is more than a kidnapping… Isn't it?" The Uzumaki questioned. "What else is going on? What are you not telling me?"

Momotaros immediately looked away from the blond. Despite the lack of expression, the Imagin's sandy form seemed to have become graver.

"**Senpai…"** Urataros' voice suddenly echoed through the bunker. **"Perhaps it is for the best…"** The other Imagin said.

A growl escaped the horned Imagin as his gazed shifted to the side. "Damn it…!" He cursed before looking up to face the blond. "Ok, I'll tell you… Gaara's _true_ wish is…"

* * *

His eyes meticulously surveyed all the technical equipment in front of him. "How are the preparations going…?" The man suddenly asked.

A lab technician who had been submerged in setting up all the equipment jumped startled at the sound of his superior's voice. "We… We're half way done… S… Sir…" He stuttered the answer as he straightened back up as a sign of respect. "We will be ready to begin by dawn."

The man simply nodded as he took a second to look over all the different machines that were installed. "And what of the report from the capture?"

The young scientist turned around and picked up a folder that sat on top of a computer and started to fidget through the papers in it. "Yes… The capture team recorded the readings when the two transformed." He said as he finally found the document he had been searching for and placed on top of the folder.

"And…" Was the man's sole responds to his subordinates words.

"Wel… Well… According to the report, Den-O's synchronization level at the moment of his transformation was 1083 EH…" The young man read off the report.

The superior nodded in understanding. "Good… That is right on the norm… Which mean that this whole ordeal can still be salvaged." He commented before his eyes returned to burn holes through his subordinate. "And what about the other Rider?"

At the question, the scientist became notable shaken. He started to look through the pages of the report as if looking for the answer of a very difficult, but tremendously important, math problem. "Si… Sir… My colleagues and I… We have looked through the data that was gathered again and again…" He stated. "We even checked the equipment to make sure that it was not malfunctioning…" The young man added. The look he received from his superior told him to cut to the chase and answer his question. "According to the reading, Sir… His synchronization level is… Zero…"

The man eyes widened in sheer surprised at what he had heard. "What did you said…?" He questioned, forcing his eyes to narrow back down.

"Like I said, we checked all the equipment to make sure it was working properly…" The scientist informed hurriedly. "And according to the data, the other Rider has no discernible synchronization with his system." He presented the document to his superior to emphasize his point. "Had it not been because the capture team actually saw him transform… There would not be any evidence that that boy is a Kamen Rider…"

Taking the report from his subordinate's hand, the man scanned through the pages himself. Surely enough, all the data that they had gathered from the so called _Kamen Rider Decade_ indicated that the boy had a synchronization level of zero. _"That's impossible…! Every Rider has at least some sort of reading!"_ He raged in his mind. _"Hell…! It is even common to record synch level from Riders just by having them hold on to their systems! How can this kid not emit any?"_

Nervously, the scientist tried to get his superior's attention. "Sir… We confiscated Decade's Rider System and have already started running some tests on it, if you would like…"

The man did not let him finish the question before he shoved the document back into his hand. "No time for that right now…" He curtly stated. "First we need to deal with Gaara and Den-O…" He declared before turning around and walking away, leaving his young subordinate to fearfully return to setting up the equipment.

* * *

"Hey, Gaara…! Wake up…" Naruto called out as he nudged the sleeping redhead with his foot. "Come on wake up!"

Lazily, the Rider from Suna started to stir and his eyes finally opened. "Naruto-san? What is it…?" He asked as he sat his body right back up.

The Uzumaki's eyes looked at the door of their container. "Things are getting louder outside…" The young man answered. "I think something might be up."

As if on cue, a loud metallic sound started to echo through their container, followed by a piercing, creaking sound as the doors started to open. The amount of light entering the room immediately increased to the point that it blinded both of the boys inside.

The sound of footsteps on a metal floor alerted the young Riders that a group of people were entering the container.

Out of instinct, Naruto stood up and placed himself between Gaara and the newcomers. Sapphire colored eyes glared at the silhouettes that appeared in the light.

"Gaara… It is time…" One of the dark figures said in a grave and authoritative voice.

Before the man could say anything else, the Uzumaki rushed at him. Unfortunately, because of the blonde's restrained arms, he was unable to defend himself and was easily thrown to the side, violently hitting the wall of the container.

The lead man's shadowy form turned to look at the Leaf Rider. "I will deal with you later" Cold words echoed through the container as the man redirected his gaze back towards Gaara.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto pushed himself back up. Unfortunately, before the young man could do anything, one of the guys behind the lead man moved in front of him and punched the teen in his gut, knocking the air right out of the blond and making him lose his footing. "Don't…!" Naruto struggled to call out after the lead man. "Leave him alone…!" The spiky haired boy growled from the floor.

The young man's words seemed to have caught the man's attention as his silhouette stopped on his track and glanced at the Decade Rider again. "How much do you know…?" He asked cryptically.

"Everything!" Naruto shouted, his eyes fixed on the shadowy man. "I know everything… So please… Just leave Gaara alone…" The young man forced himself to plead.

Gaara's eyes had yet to accustom to light. All that he could see were the outlines of the people in the container as he tried to decipher what they were talking about. The redhead questioned the Imagin inside his psyche for answers, but, to his great surprise, all of them remained quiet.

The Uzumaki gritted his teeth. "This whole mess… It was to prevent this…" His eyes finally dropped to the floor. "All of their efforts…"

The man continued to simply observe the blond in silence.

"They just want to fulfill Gaara's wish…" Naruto whispered as he remembered what Momotaros had revealed to him.

* * *

**-Flashback-**

"Gaara's true wish…?" The spiky haired teen asked in confusion.

Momotaros nodded. "Yes… The wish that Gaara made on the day when we first met."

Naruto immediately recalled the story that Sieg had told him about how the Imagin came into existence. "Sieg told me… That you asked Gaara to wish for something and that you were going to grant it in order to prove that you really existed."

The Imagin let out a pained sound before nodding to the blonde's words. "Yes that was our first meeting…" He admitted.

"Sieg didn't tell me what he ended up asking for… Is that what you're talking about?" The Decade Rider asked. By now the young man was fully awake and his attention was solely directed at the sand creature in from of him.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, Momotaros nodded again. "Well… Sort of…" He finally said. "After I asked for his wish, he… Gaara… He didn't wish for anything…"

Naruto gave the Imagin a confused and annoyed looked. "He didn't wish for anything?" The spiky haired teen repeated. "Then what the hell were you talking about just now?" He asked, unconsciously raising his voice out of frustration.

The oni-like creature took a second to make sure that the Gaara was still asleep before turning back to the Rider from Konoha. Any anger that the blonde's outburst might had caused was completely drowned by the seriousness in the Imagin's tone. "Don't you get it, you magenta-bastard?" Momotaros questioned. "Back then, Gaara didn't wish for anything because… He didn't want to be alone anymore!" He informed.

"What do you mean…?" The Uzumaki asked, the annoyance completely gone, leaving only confusion behind.

"I told him that I would grant him a wish to prove that I existed…" Momotaros said, his gaze dropping to the ground. "So Gaara was too afraid to ask for something I could not give him… Because it would mean that I wasn't really there and that he was still all alone." The Imagin suddenly raised his gaze back to the blonde's, taking the teen off-guard. "Now do you understand?" He asked, but did not bother to wait for a responds before continuing. "After living through so much… Gaara would prefer not knowing the true if it would prevent him from experiencing all that pain and loneliness again!"

Naruto was left speechless at the words that he had just heard.

Momotaros gaze dropped again. "That's his real wish…" He said, his voice sounding weak and tired. "That's why… That's why we…"

**-End Flashback-**

* * *

Naruto held his glare on the man. "If Gaara finds out the truth… Then all of their efforts will be for nothing…!" The Decade Rider stated.

The man simply continued to look at the blond in silence for a couple of seconds. "It is none of my concern…" He finally said. His voice was completely void of any emotions or warmth.

A growl escaped the Uzumaki right before he tried to lunge himself at the man. Unfortunately, the young man was not able to get far before the man's subordinates grabbed a hold of him, and restrained the Rider from Konoha. "You bastard…!" Naruto spat, giving out a murderous glare.

Unaffected by the blonde's behavior, the man simply turned to look away the spiky haired teen, no longer deeming him worthy of his attention. "Take him away… He has already cost us too much time." The man ordered. Immediately, his subordinates started to drag the Decade Rider out of the room, while the young man continued to curse and attempted to fight them off.

Gaara watched the events unfold in from of him in confusion. He had no idea what was going on, what Naruto had been talking about, or what the man and his subordinates wanted to do with him. To make matters worse for the redhead, all four Imagin were still completely silent and refused to acknowledge his call.

The man took a few steps forwards, his gaze steely set on the Den-O Rider. "It is time, Gaara…" He repeated. "Ten years of efforts have amounted to this day." The man took another step.

A pair of clear, blue eyes widened in disbelief as the features of the person in from of the redhead became discernable. Gaara's knees buckled, causing him to fall into the floor as he finally understood why the Imagin had suddenly refused to speak to him. "No… It cannot be…" The young man whispered weakly. "Ya… Yashamaru…?" He asked, hopping to whatever God would listen that the answer was _no_.

Looking down at his nephew with the same coldness on his eyes, the blond man was unaffected by being recognized and did nothing to appease the boy's distress. "Stand up, Gaara." He directed.

Down on the ground, the redhead simply shook his head. "But… But… It just cannot be!" He shouted. "Yashamaru… You… You were the only one who ever cared about me back then…" The young man stated. "During all those experiments, you were the only one who was concern about my well being!" Gaara said as he looked up and desperately searched for any sign of warmth in his uncle's eyes. "You were the only one there for me…"

If anything, Yashamaru's eyes got even colder. "And why was that, Gaara?" He questioned, earning a confused look from the redhead. "You are Kamen Rider Den-O, of course I had to get close to you, it was the only way to keep you under control." The man said, successfully shattering the redhead's denial. "All these years, I had to provide comfort for you under instructions, but now, I do not have to follow those orders anymore."

Weakly, Gaara looked up. "What… What are you talking… About…?" The teen from Suna struggled to ask.

"Because today…" Yashamaru continued. "You are going to help me create the most power Kamen Rider this world has ever seen." He announced and, in the first act of what could be considered tenderness, he reached for his nephew with one hand. "You are going to help me, right, Gaara?" The man asked as he placed his palm on Den-O Rider's cheek. "Come on… Do not let her sacrifice be in vain."

The next thing Gaara felt was a powerful electric current running rampant through his body. In his confusion and shock at his uncle's action, the young man had failed to see the electric device he had been carrying his hand. With that realization, Gaara finally lose consciousness.

* * *

Hidden behind a tree, Sakura, Sasuke, and Temari waited impatiently. "Is that him?" The pink haired girl suddenly called out as a sphere of light came flying towards them.

The luminous mass drop into the ground, immediately sand started to gather on that spot and Sieg body emerged from it a second later. "I found a strange facility just a short distance from here." The Imagin informed. "I can definitely sense Gaara-sama and the others there… But…" The white being took a moment of pause. "There are over two dozen Worms surrounding the place and one of them has already molted."

A curse escaped the Uchiha as the two young women shared a concerned look with each other.

"So… What are we going to do…?" Sakura asked, looking at the other three for answers.

Temari's gaze dropped to the ground. "There is only thing we can do…" She started to say.

"We fight our way through it." Sasuke stated before the young woman from Suna could finish. Taking out the Blay Buckle, the raven haired teen brought the Rider System to his waist and let it strap itself around it. The Uchiha immediately set out.

The two female Riders took a second to glance at each other before going after the raven haired teen, Sieg following right behind them.

The four had only move forward less than half a mile when they suddenly found themselves in front of a horde of the Worms. Right in the middle of the group of green, hunchback monsters stood a sleeker variant of the creatures with brighter shade of green, and a clubbed fist for a right arm. "I'll take the ugly one…" Sasuke stated as his eyes fell on the evolved Worm.

While Sakura took out her white deck case and the V-Buckle appeared on her waist, Temari turned her head to address Sieg. "Let me take the lead on this one." The young woman said with a serious tone.

The Imagin remained silent for a couple of seconds before nodding. "As you wish, Princess…" He said as his body crumbled into sand, leaving only a sphere of light behind, which immediately flew into the blonde's body. A belt, similar to Gaara's Terminal Buckle but decorated with a pair of wings, appeared around the female Rider's waist.

"Henshin!" The three called out in unison.

Sakura inserted the deck into her belt and immediately the image of Kamen Rider Femme overlapped on to her body.

"_**Wing Form"**_ Wing Buckle called out after Temari swiped the Rider Pass in front of it, causing the Den-O variant's armor to start forming.

Sasuke's glare at the evolved Worm intensified as he pulled the lever in his Rider System. _**"Turn Up"**_ The belt called out as a blue card was projected in front of the Uchiha. Suppressing a growl, the young man rushed forward, passing through the card and emerging as Kamen Rider Blade on the other side. Sasuke continued charging forward, his sword already drawn to strike at the green monster.

* * *

Naruto struggled against the reinforced restraints that bound his body. Looking around the makeshift lab from his position at the only empty corner in the room, the blond could see that the Decadriver and the Ridebooker had been left on one of the desks. The irony did not escape the Uzumaki as he found himself desperately wishing that he could have his Rider System back.

The blonde's head snapped to the side when the room's doors were suddenly opened wide. A growl escaped the spiky haired teen at the sight of a pair of Riotroopers dragging Gaara's unconscious form into the room. "What the hell did you do to him?" The Decade Rider asked the moment Yashamaru walked into the room.

The man did not even try to hide his contempt for the younger blond as he gave him a passing glance before addressing the lead scientist. "Are we ready to begin?" He asked.

The researched seemed to have problems finding his voice at the presence of his superior. "Ye… Yes… We're all set." He informed as he turned to look at the large, strange machine that the Riotroopers were placing Gaara inside of. "As soon as the subject is secure we can start."

Yashamaru nodded before walking towards a briefcase that sat on a desk next to the machine. Opening the case, the man took out a dark purple version of Gaara's Terminal Buckle.

In the machine, the redhead started to stir awake. The event that had just transpired flooded back into Gaara's mind as a look of confusion became one of dread and misery. Eventually, pale blue eyes fell on the dark belt, causing the young man to finally speak. "What… What is that…?" He asked weakly.

A slow, cold laugh escaped Yashamaru's lips. "You were never told, were you, Gaara?" The man said as he looked at his nephew, a smirk taking residence on face. "Back when the original break on your psyche and Den-O's power occurred, something else was created alongside Momotaros." He informed. "Did you never found it odd that, no matter how much pain and loneliness you had to endure for the sake of the village, you never blamed on others?" The blond questioned as he walked to stand right in front of the redhead.

Realization dawned on Gaara's eyes as his blue eyes widened in disbelief.

"In this Terminal Buckle resides the strongest Den-O variant." Yashamaru said as he held the Rider System up. "Born out of all the anger and hatred you held against the village that turned you into a science experiment." He informed before walking to the side of the large machine and placing the belt inside a compartment on it. "And now you are going to help me activate it." He added before stepping back. Giving his shaken nephew one last look. "It the least you can do after taking my sister away from me…" The blond whispered before turning to the lead scientist. "Start."

The scientist shyly nodded before walking toward one of the computer and activating the program on it.

Gaara's screams immediately filled the room.

Naruto try to break his restraints desperately as he watched the Den-O Rider writhe in pain while the machine forced electricity to course through the young man's body. The Uzumaki try to stand, but the pair of Riotroopers pushed him back down. "Stop it! You bastard, stop it!" The spiky haired boy shouted at the older blond, but was completely ignored.

Yashamaru and the scientist watched as the machine drain Den-O's power, which had taken residence inside Gaara's body, from the redhead and transferred to the dark Terminal Buckle. "This is it, Gaara…" The blond whispered. "This is your end as Den-O."

Inside Gaara's body, the four Imagin could feel every bit of pain that the young man was experiencing. "Senpai…. What can we do…?" Urataros asked, his usually calm and suave voice completely taken over by desperation.

"I can feel Gaara fading away!" Kintaros pointed out worriedly. "And this damn machine is preventing us from taking over!" There was no trace of sleepiness or drowsiness left on the Imagin.

"I'm scared! I'm scared!" Ryuutaros simply continue repeating. Despite the gunslinger Imagin's power, his childish side became apparent with the current situation.

A fierce growl escaped Momotaros. "Shut up, all of you!" The horned being roared. "We'll think of something!" He said.

Through Gaara's eyes, the four Imagin scanned the room in search for something, anything, that could help them, or at the very least help Gaara.

"I got it!" Momotaros suddenly exclaimed just as Gaara's eyes fell on the spiky haired teen in the corner.

"Senpai, that won't work!" Urataros argued. "We cannot posses anyone other than Gaara."

The horned Imagin swore. "I know! But that's really our only option! I have to at least try!" Momotaros proclaimed. Before the other three could talk him out of it, the demon-like creature excited Gaara's psyche.

The lead scientist almost dropped his clipboard the moment a sphere of red light escaped the redhead's body and started to fly around the room.

Realization of what the red light was dawned upon Naruto a second before the sphere shot towards him and entered his body. "Wha… What the hell do you think you doing…?" The Decade Rider asked as he suddenly felt as if an entire bookcase had fallen on top of him.

"**Here goes nothing…"** Momotaro's voice rang in the Uzumaki ear.

Suddenly, a red light flashed over the Uzumaki's body before his spiky hair was pulled back a bit and a single lock, as well as the young man's sapphire eyes, turned into a bright red color.

"ARGH!" The spiky haired teen let out a powerful roar as he jumped back onto his feet and forcibly broke the restraints on his body. Before the Riotroopers could react, the blond quickly pushed pass them and rushed toward the Decadriver.

"Stop him!" Yashamaru order as he watched the teenager reach his Rider System. The older blond was taken back by the murderous look that the young man's red eyes gave him as he attached the belt around his waist and took a card from the white book.

"You bastard…" Naruto spoke in Momotaros' voice. "I'm going to make you pay... Henshin!" The possessed teen called out before inserting the card into the Rider System.

"_**Kamen Rider… Decade!"**_

Several grey images converged into the spiky haired teen's body, forming his Rider armor. "I…!" Momotars pointed at himself. "Have arrived…!" He crouched down slightly. "As Decade!" The Imagin added before taking the Ridebooker, quickly switching it into its sword mode, and slashing at the incoming Riotroopers.

The two bronze Riders were thrown back by the force of the attack. Three more entered the room and rushed at the magenta Rider, their daggers already ready to attack.

"Get the hell out of my way!" Momotaros shouted at he blocked one of the strike and pushed the Rider back. A second one came at him from the side, but the Imagin quickly delivered a devastating kick into his plated chest.

Momotaros did not wait for the third Riotrooper to even get a chance to start his attack as the furious Imagin simply grabbed him by the throat and pulled the mass-produced warrior towards him, greeting the poor bastard with a powerful headbutt that knocked him.

Yashamaru took a step forward with all the intention of stepping in. However, the man was frozen in his place when the magenta Rider suddenly turned his green visors towards him.

The possessed Rider had all intention of turning his fury towards the man that had caused all of their problems, but before he could do anything, Gaara's screamed snapped out of his angry trance.

"Hang in there, Gaara!" Momotaros called out as he rushed towards the redhead, driving his fist into the machine. Immediately, the procedure and Gaara's screams stopped. "Heh… That should do… Gyargh!" The Imagin started to say but was suddenly cut off and forcibly push out of the Naruto's body and back into Gaara's.

Decade brought a hand up to his helmet. "What the hell happened…?" The blond pondered outloud in his normal voice as he tried not to lose footing. He had retained consciousness while Momotaros took him over, fought off the Riotroopers, and saved Gaara, but then the Imagin was abruptly and forcibly ejected out, and the blond had no idea what had caused it.

A groan escaped Gaara, snapping the Uzumaki out of his train of thought. Quickly, the young man undid the redhead's restraints and caught his body as it fell forward.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Naruto saw Yashamaru step forward. Instantly, Decade switch his weapon to its gun form and held it up towards the older blond. "Stop right there…" He said in a low, but deadly serious tone. "You have already caused enough damage and it's only out of sake for Gaara that I don't kill you right now." The magenta Rider informed as he fought the urge to pull the trigger. "Move aside… The two of us are walking out of here… Don't you even dare to try else." Naruto stated as he started forward, serving as crutch for the barely conscious Gaara.

Yashamaru simply stood completely still as the two young men passed him by.

* * *

Growls and groans echoed through the forest as the three Riders continue to fight through the horde of Worms.

"_**Sword Vent"**_ Sakura's rapier called out right before a large golden spear fell from the sky and into her hands. Gracefully, Kamen Rider Femme swung her weapon, sealing a pair of Worms back into cards.

On her end, Temari kept four Worms at bay with hand-axe and the small, bladed boomerang. "We're losing too much time…" She groaned as she jump back to evade a strike from one of the Worms.

A short distance away from the female Riders, the Uchiha traded vicious blow after vicious blow with the evolved monster. "Argh!" Sasuke screamed as the large club attached to the Worms right arm connected with his chest and sent him fling back.

Kamen Rider Blade's back hid the trunk of a tree before falling to the ground.

The raven hared teen did not wasted any time and immediately jumped back up. Gripping the Blay Rouzer tightly, the navy Rider charged.

The Worm thrust its club forward to meet the young man. Fortunately, Sasuke saw the attack coming and skillfully jumped up over the green creature. _**"Slash!"**_ Blade's sword called out right after the Uchiha swiped a card through the rouzer as he landed.

Without missing a beat, Sasuke swiftly turned around and viciously slashed at the Worm, the powered strike carrying enough force to case the monster to stumble back.

"I'm finishing this…" The Uchiha declared as he opened the rouzer and removed a pair of cards from it.

"_**Kick…! Thunder…!"**_ The sword called out as the Rider swiped the cards. Images of the two cards appeared in front of Blade for a second before converging into him. _**"Lightning Blast!"**_ The Blay Rouzer finally announced as electricity gathered in the right boot of Sasuke's armor.

Before the Worm could recover from the powerful sword strike, the navy Rider jumped up and propelled his body forwards, kicking the creature square on the chest. All the energy in the Uchiha's boot was transferred to the monster as it was sent flying back, culminating in an explosion once its body hit the ground.

Sasuke landed safely on the ground. As the raven hared teen try to catch his breath, he recalled all of his encounters with molted Worms in the past. During his time in the Academy, he had always taken on the evolved monsters with his teammates help, and this was the first time he had to do so all on his own. Despite the situation that they were in, Blade could not help but smirk to himself.

Femme managed to defeat two more Worms, but failed to see a third one approach her from behind. Taking the pink haired teen by surprise, the monster swiped its claws at her back, knocking her down.

The Haruno look up helplessly as the monster move in for a following strike. Suddenly, right when the claws was about to come down on Sakura, the Worm exploded and it's card fell to the ground, revealing Den-O Wing Form behind it. "Are you alright?" Temari asked as she helped her fellow Rider stand back up.

"Yes… Thank you…" The girl from Konoha said. "They just keep coming." She added as the two of them glanced at the small army of monsters that stood before them.

More had joined the Worm's ranks since the fight started, and despite the girls' best efforts, there were now almost three dozens of those creatures in front of them.

"Watch you!" Sasuke shouted arriving from behind the two young women. "They're molting!" Blade pointed with his swords at several Worms that had suddenly started to glow red.

"What are we going to do?" Sakura asked worriedly. "We can't fight all of those…" Femme started to say but was suddenly cut off.

"_**Maximum Drive!"**_ The three young Riders turned around just in time so see a powerful barrage of dark energy shots fly pass them in direction of the Worms. The monsters were caught in a tremendous explosion that left nothing but their cards behind.

Temari was taken back as she saw a strange individual with a skull for a head standing right behind them. "Why am I not surprised?" The voice and the white hat that the warrior placed on his head made the blond realize who the person was.

"Ka… Kakashi-sensei… We…" Sakura immediately tried to explain but her teacher stopped her by raising a hand.

Kamen Rider Skull simply walked pass the three. "Save it for later…" He said as he pointed towards the building. Several Riotroopers were coming out with their weapons already drawn. "Right now we have two idiots to save." Kakashi added before leading the charge.

* * *

"We're almost out of here Gaara…" Naruto said as he continued to help the redhead through the make-shift facility. The blond could hear a lot of chaos just up ahead of them and could only hope that Sieg had gotten to Sakura and the others and brought them here to help them.

"Boy…"

At the call, the Uzumaki's head immediately whipped around, his sapphire eyes murderously narrowing on the older blond that stood just a few feet away from them. "What the hell are you doing here?" Decade roared as he aimed his gun at the man.

Yashamaru remained unfazed by the young man's action. "I believe that you have forgotten something…" He simply said as he took out the dark Terminal Buckle. Naruto's eyes widened as the man swung the belt around his waist and swiped a Rider Pass in front of it. "Henshin…" Yashamaru stated.

"_**Nega Form"**_ The man's Rider System called out in a deeper voice than Gaara's.

Carefully, Naruto placed the still half-conscious redhead on the floor as he watched the older blond transform.

The armored that covered Yashamaru was identical to Sword Form's, except that all the red had been replaced by a dark purple with a blue, flame-like pattern running up the chest plate and visors. "Behold…" Yashamaru's voice came from behind the new Rider's mask. "The most powerful Den-O… Nega Form!" He proudly announced.

Decade growled. "You bastard!" He called out before squeezing the Decadriver's trigger, letting out a barrage of bullets towards the purple Riders.

The shots simply seem to bounce off the new Den-O variant as he remained unfazed by the attack. "Is that all?" The man asked. "Due to your… _Particular_ readings… I was curious of what type of power you possessed, but I have to say, I am disappointed." The older blond commented.

"Like hell I care!" The spiky haired teen roared as he charged forward, switching his weapon to its sword mode.

Still unbothered, Yashamaru simply waited for the magenta Rider, raising an arm to block the incoming strike.

Taken back by how easily his attack had been stopped, Naruto was left completely open to the Den-O variant. Yashamaru proceeded to hit the young man across the face, causing him to stagger back. The man followed suit by landing several others punches before finishing up with a powerful kick on the magenta warrior's chest.

The Uzumaki fell on his back with a groan. "Damn you…" He muttered as he pushed himself back up while this opponent approached him. Decade tried to raise his weapon up, but Den-O was kicker than him and kicked his sword right out of his hand. "You bast…"

Yashamaru did not let the younger blond finish as he grabbed the teenager by the throat and picked him up. "There is just something about you that I do not like…" The man admitted as he tightened his grip. "I feel that I would be doing the whole world a huge favor if I just destroy you right now." He added. However, whatever the Den-O variant planned to do next, he stopped when the chime of a Terminal Buckle went off.

"_**Gun Form"**_

Yashamaru dropped the young man from Konoha and turned around just in time to receive a barrage of shots right in the chest that pushed him back. "Mind if I end you?" Ryuutaros' voice came out of the Den-O as the last pieces of Gun Form's armor settled on him. "I will even if you do!" The childish Imagin stated before shooting another salvo of shots at the other Rider.

Naruto tried to regain his breath as he watched Ryuutaros drive Gaara's uncle into the defensive.

"You blasted Imagin!" Yashamaru roared as he had to jump out of the way of another one of Gun Form's shots.

"Heheh!" The gunslinger Den-O laughed. "This is for all that you put Gaara through!" He called out as he spun on his heel and then shot at the older Rider.

Nega Form continued dodging. "Damn you…" He muttered as he was force to hide behind a large computer while the Imagin continued to savagely shoot at him. Taking advantage of that moment of respite, Yashamaru quickly took out his own DenGasher and quickly formed a gun as well.

"Get out, you coward!" Ryuutaros taunted. Unfortunately, the young Imagin was taken by surprise when Nega Form suddenly jumped out of hiding and unloaded a powerful barrage of shot towards him. The force of the attack was enough to send the Den-O variant flying back and onto a wall.

Yashamaru's took a couple of steps towards his nephew's defenseless body. "I guess I will take care of you first…" He commented as he swiped the Rider Pass in front of his belt again.

Immediately, the Rider System activated. _**"Full Charge"**_ The buckle called out as energy started to emanate from it and into Nega Form's gun.

The blond man raised his fire arm towards the downed Den-O. "Goodbye, Gaara." He said before pulling the trigger, releasing a dark red sphere of violent energy flying towards his opponent.

Helpless from his position, all that Ryuutaros could do was bring his arms up and wait for the blast to hit him. A thunderous explosion went off in the room, but the Imagin was surprised when he did not feel any pain. Looking up at the cloud of smoke and dust in front of him, the Den-O variant was surprise to find a burnt Decade standing right in middle of it with both of his arms up. "Wh… Why…?" Ryuutaros asked bewildered.

"Because… I promise that I would protect Gaara… Just like you guys…." Naruto said through pained breaths before his knees gave up and his body dropped to the floor.

The possessed Rider stayed dumbfound for a couple of second until a red light flashed over his body. "You bastard!" Momotaros' voice roared as he rushed pass the Uzumaki towards Yashamaru.

"_**Sword Form"**_ The Terminal Buckle called out in mid charge, replacing the purple armor for the red one.

Brandishing his sword, the red warrior slashed at the other Den-O variant who blocked the attack with his gun. "I won't let you hurt anyone else!" The Imagin stated and he continued to strike at his opponent.

"Those are big words for someone who does not really exists…" Yashamaru commented as he dodged one of the slashes, leaving him open the deliver a shot at the younger Rider.

The blast did not deter the swordsman who simply continued to attack. "I will exist as long as Gaara need me!" Momotaros proclaimed. "And I will always protect him from the likes of you!" He shouted as he grabbed a hold of his DenGasher with both hands and brought the weapon down in a powerful strike.

Yashamaru block the downward slash with his gun. The two Den-O found themselves lock in a struggle as each try to push the other back. "You were nothing but a mistaken… A freak error caused by a boy who could not cope with his loneliness!" The blond man stated with a voice filled with spite. "And that is what Gaara will always be… Just a single, pathetic existence crying all alone in an empty room!"

A soft chuckle escaped the red Den-O variant. "That's where you wrong…" The Imagin said as he planted his feet firmly into the ground. "Because Gaara is no longer alone!" Momotaros exclaimed before quickly taking out his Rider Pass and swiping it in front of his buckle.

"_**Full Charge"**_ The belt called out as it started sending streaks of energy into the DenGasher.

Before Yashamaru could react, the possessed Rider released all the energy in his sword to shoot the blade out of its handle, taking the man by surprise and causing him to stagger several steps back. When he regained his stance, the blond man had expected to see the Imagin charging at him, but was surprise to find the red Den-O simply standing there casually without any intention to follow up on his attack.

"_**Final Attack Ride…"**_ Realization dawned on Yashamaru as he looked to his side where the magenta Rider had gotten back up and was now closing up his Rider System. _**"De-De-Decade!"**_ The belt called out as a row of golden cards appeared between Nega Form and Decade.

Naruto jumped into the air and kick forward. The young man's body was immediately propelled forwards through the row of cards as energy gathered up in his kick.

In the corner of the room, unbeknownst to the three fighters, a forgotten synchronization reading tool recorded the magenta Rider's synch level at -1214 EH at that moment.

The Uzumaki's boot connected with the dark Den-O variant's chest, pushing him back and transferring all of the energy. The moment Yashamaru hit the floor, all the energy burst out in a devastating explosion so strong that it undid the man's transformation and send the belt flying away from his body.

Suddenly, the doors to the room burst open as Den-O Wing Form rushed in. Temari immediately started looking around the room and her eyes widened at what they found.

Sword Form sat passively against a wall, giving her a lazy waive of the hand as a sign of acknowledgment, on the other side of the room lied her uncle's unconscious form wearing as similar uniform to the Riotroopers that had defended the facility, and by the wall farthest from her stood Decade looking over a dark colored Terminal Buckle. Immediately, the young woman started to fill in the blanks.

Decade looked down at Nega Form's belt. "All because of this damn Rider System…" The blond muttered, recalling everything that had happened. "At the end… Riders can only bring pain to people hearts…" He said as he pull his gun out and aimed at the device on the floor.

"Naruto, stop!" Temari called out just as the young man's finger was about to pull the trigger. "If that truly is a Terminal Buckle… Then that must mean that it holds a part of Gaara inside…" She pointed out. "And if you destroy it… It will be gone forever…"

The Uzumaki kept his finger on the trigger as he slowly turned to look at the white Den-O. Finally, he sighed and bent down to pick the Rider System up, throwing the belt at Wing Form as his teammates also entered the room.

* * *

"See? I told you that you were going to get in over your head!" Sakura chastised the spiky haired teen. "But no! The Great Naruto could take care of everything!"

The blond boy frowned but had the decency to look away. "Stop nagging me already…" He said and regretted it the next instant as the Femme Rider's fist dug into his gut.

The Haruno crossed her arms and indignantly looked away from the young man writhing in pain at her feet. "And what about those marking? What did you do to your face?" She asked.

"Markings…?" Naruto repeated as he stood back up. "What are you talking about?" The Decade Rider questioned.

"Those things in your cheeks." Sakura pointed out, taking out as small mirror to show her teammate. "Here…"

Sure enough, when the Uzumaki saw his reflection, he found three streaks on each of his cheeks, almost looking like whiskers. "What the hell are these?" He shouted.

"They appeared after you second… _Encouter_… With Den-O." Sieg said as he suddenly appeared between the two Leaf Riders, taking both of them by surprised.

Naruto growled. "Don't do that!" He complained. "And what do you mean? Why didn't you say anything before?" He asked, tracing his fingers through the lines.

The Imagin simply shrugged his shoulders. "At the time, I thought it was a casual occurrence." Sieg commented, earning a barrage of curses from the spiky haired teen.

Temari sweatdropped at her Imagin's and her fellow blonde's antics. "So what happens now?" The young woman asked as turning to face the oldest Rider.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, Leaf nins should be here shortly to bring Yashamaru and his underlings in until they can be transferred back to Suna." The silver haired man said.

"But…" Gaara voiced out. "What about me…?" The redhead muttered. He did not need to say anything further, as everyone already knew what he was referring to.

"I do not think you will be worrying about that anymore, Gaara-kun." A new voice suddenly said, causing all five Riders to turn around to look at the source of it.

A pair of sapphire eyes widened. "Old-man!" The spiky haired boy exclaimed at the sight of the Hokage approaching them, a squad of Konoha shinobi following behind. "What are you doing here?"

The Sandaime simply chuckled at young boy antics. "Well, because Kakashi informed me of the situation, of course." He answered. "And I thought I should oversee this situation personally." The man added with a smile.

"Wait…" Sakura interjected. "Kakashi-sensei informed you?" She asked her eyes look from the Hokage to her teacher. "But how did you do if you came back so quickly?"

The Skull Rider simply shrugged at the question. "I never said was I going all the way back to the village…" He pointed out. "I just needed to get close enough to send a message through one of my dogs." He informed as he pulled out a small summoning scroll from his pocket and showed his students. "You guys were the one who got impatient and rushed in." He said.

"Anyways…" Sarutobi interrupted, getting the conversation back on track. "I have already sent the Kazekage a message of my own and I sincerely doubt that he will continue his experiments on Den-O." The man said, surprising the two siblings. "Someone from Suna should be around to pick you up soon, so I suggest you wait here." He added kindly. "In the meantime, Kakashi, I think your team has gone above and beyond on their first mission, you should take them back to the village to rest." The Hokage said before excusing himself and walking towards the lab.

Sakura's eyes dropped slightly. "I guess this is good bye" The girl whispered sadly.

"It was a pleaser meeting you all!" Sieg proclaimed loudly. "We can never thank you enough for all of your help." He said as he gave a small bow.

Naruto scoffed. "I still can get use to you guys…" He muttered referring to the Imagin.

"As if you were easy to deal with." Momotaros called out as his upper body formed out of sand, surprising the Leaf Riders that had not seen the Imagin's partial sandy form yet.

Temari kick the Imagin in on the back of the head. "You be nice now." She warned the horned being. "Naruto-san, Sakura-san, Sasuke-san, and Kakashi-san thank you for all of your help." The young woman offered her gratitude.

While the others continue to say their goodbyes, Gaara directed his gaze towards the spiky haired blond and step forward. "Thank you for everything… Decade…" He said as he offered the other teen a smile and a handshake.

The Uzumaki frowned for a second. "Don't call me that…" He said, but nevertheless accepted the redhead's shake and returned the smile.

The moment their hands touched, the Ridebooker started to chime and a card was propelled out. Naruto caught it and was surprised to see the image of Den-O Sword Form appear on it.

"Heh…" The Uzumaki let out a short laugh as he showed Gaara the card, causing the redhead's smile to widen.

A few minutes later, the siblings and the two Imagin waved goodbye to their new friends from the Leaf. "Despite his crude and rude behavior…" Sieg suddenly started to say. "I found myself intrigued by Naruto-san, and I wish our path may cross again."

Temari simply smile and nodded in agreement. "Not everyone would have gone as far as he did for us… There is definitely something special about him." She said.

A scoff escaped Momotaros. "I'll say… I was even able to posses him back in the lab." The Imagin pointed out, surprising Gaara and the others.

"But… How?" The redhead asked as he looked down at the sandy being.

The Imagin shrugged. "I don't know… But what I find even stranger is how I was suddenly thrown out of his body afterwards." He said. "It's as if there was something already inside of him that waited until I destroyed the machine before kicking me out." Momotaros said as he watched the Decade Rider's back disappear among the trees.

* * *

**A/N – First things first, the lyrics for the "opening" are from Climax Jump, the KR Den-O opening, just in case someone can't recognize it. I know that Nega Form's belt is silver just like Den-O, but I felt that a change in color would be better for the fic. Also, if anyone wonders: no, there is no Negataros and I do not have any plans to brining him in at the moment, that said there will be other Imagin introduced to the story later on. Finally, I planned this arc a long time ago, way before it was reveal that Yashamaru really did care for Gaara in the manga, but I was not about to change my plans for that.**

**This is the longest fanfic chapter I have written it (like I said, it's basically one chapter and a half). The next chapter will be sort of a interlude and a prologue to the next arc, but it will be considerably shorter, and hopefully faster to write. Thank you all for reading.**

* * *

_**Preview: Rider World Chapter 11 – Daily Life**_

-The Hokage frowns as he sits behind his desk.

"Thank you for telling me this."

"What do I do know…"

-Naruto and Kiba grab each other by the collard of their shirts

"I don't care what type of Rider you are"

"You won't get so lucky next time."

-Ayame sets a bowl of ramen down.

"Sometimes it's just a matter of slowing down and taken everything in…"

-Hinata smiles kindly.

"It hard… But I feel like I want to continue looking at him."

"There are people who I do not want to disappoint… And he is one of them."

-Naruto looks down at the Decadriver and the two Kamen Rider cards.

"He must have grown a lot… After all these years."

"I have gotten stronger…"


End file.
